Demons at Hogwarts, Year Three
by pices-aquarius
Summary: HP/YYH Crossover. Things to look for this year: New, demon-like, abilities within Harry. Alex tells Draco about her secret. We learn two of Alex's deepest fears, ones that haunt her in her dreams. And some relationships are formed and demolished.
1. Kurama's Deceit and Dementors

Hello all and welcome to Demons at Hogwarts, Year 3. I'm so glad that I actually made it here. I was afraid it wouldn't happen, yet, here we are! Anyway, here's a glimpse into what's going to happen this year: We discover some new abilities within Harry. Alex tells Draco about her secret. We learn two of Alex's deepest fears, ones that haunt her in her dreams. And some relationships are formed and demolished.

**Disclaimer: **I do NOT own Harry Potter or anything related to it or J.K. Rowling. I am not making money from these stories. I DO own Alex, Maria and any other OC's that appear throughout this Fanfiction.

Without further ado, here is Year 3!

* * *

Alex stared out at the Manor that loomed before her. Why did she have to go and promise Draco and his mother that she would visit for a time over the summer? This thought had plagued her mind over the weeks that she had spent away from Hogwarts before her trip here. Although she thought that Koenma would have forgotten to dole out a punish, he had not. But now she wished he had given her some other for of punishment. But this was it. "You'll keep your promise to the Malfoy's." Koenma had said.

She shivered in the slight breeze and felt something brush up against her right arm. Looking over and slightly down she saw that it was Hiei. Alex calmed herself, she felt better knowing that he was going to be here with her. He walked ahead of her, slinging her pack over his shoulder. "Come, or we'll be late." She sighed and followed along behind him. Her nerves weren't solely based on Draco and his mother. It was the other parent that worried her; Draco's father, Lucius Malfoy. Last year he had given Ginny Weasley a Dark artifact that had hidden a piece of a younger Voldemort, known as Tom Riddle. Granted, when Alex looked into his mind, she found that he had no idea what it would do, but the fact remained; he had still _done_ it.

Alex watched as Hiei in front of her passed through some kind of barrier. She knew it was a barrier because Hiei seemed to shimmer as he walked through it. He turned to look at her. "Come on. It's just a protection barrier, like those around Hogwarts or even Demon World." She smirked. Hiei was sounding more and more like a wizard with each passing week. She walked through the barrier and it tingled slightly when she passed by it.

They continued their trek up to the manor and stopped in front of the door. Hiei rang a doorbell and they waited. After a few silent moments, the door opened and they were greeted with not one of the Malfoys as Alex thought, but a House elf. As he ushered them in Alex felt a twinge of sympathy, Harry had managed to free Dobby from the grips of the Malfoys, but Alex had not realized that there would be more of them.

This House elf led them through the greeting hall and down a series of corridors. Alex marveled at the grandness of the Manor. It had the medieval era look about it. It had a mixture of stone and marble walls and floors, and wood paneling. It reminded her a bit of the Slytherin common room. There were paintings of Malfoy ancestors who all seemed to stare at her as if they knew she wasn't a Malfoy or even a Slytherin. They arrived in a living room where the Malfoys sat, waiting.

Lucius stood to greet them. "Ah, I see our guests have arrived safely." He spoke smoothly and carefully. But Alex knew that it would have to be her to be the one to speak carefully, for she was in their territory. "Welcome to Malfoy Manor. I hope that you will find all your accommodations to your liking."

Alex bowed her head slightly, but never taking her eyes of his. She knew that it was she he was speaking to, and not Hiei. "Thank you Mr. Malfoy for your gracious hospitality, and welcoming us so grandly into your home." She allowed her eyes to flicker over to Draco, who seemed rather stunned at her politeness. She straightened and saw that Mrs. Malfoy had stepped up to her husband's side. She was a beautiful woman with dark blond hair and piercing blue eyes.

"Alexandria," she had a soft but commanding voice. Alex figured it had come from years of living with Lucius. "Draco has told us so much about you, and I am thrilled to finally get the chance to meet you." Alex smiled.

"Mrs. Malfoy," Alex bowed before her. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you as well, and I thank you for inviting me to be a guest in your lovely home."

"Alex," Draco seemed unwilling to be silent for any longer, she looked at him. He was rather fidgety, as though all the propriety made him uncomfortable. "I want to show you where you're staying while you're here. Come on Hiei." Alex glanced over at Hiei, who seemed to be trying to hide a frown.

"Of course Draco," She turned her attention to the elder Malfoys. "Thank you again." And she followed Hiei and Draco down another hall.

Once they were clear of his parents, Draco flung his arms around Alex's neck, she was surprised at the gesture, but returned it none-the-less. "Hello Draco." She chuckled. Behind Draco she could see Hiei smirking. Draco pulled away. Alex saw that he had grown over the time she hadn't seen him.

"I didn't know that you could be so formal."

"You and your mother invited me into a lion's den. It's the only way I know how to be in situations like this."

_**Funny, you don't act like this around Koenma. **_Hiei's voice rang through her head. She glared at him.

"Anyway, this will be your room, Alex," He opened the door of a room that was part way down the hall from the living room and she stifled a gasp of surprise. The room was painted an emerald green, with a four-poster Victorian bed with silver bedding to compliment the walls, there was a medium sized teak desk and large teak dresser on the wall across from the bed. A large bay window was open and looked out onto a beautiful rose garden, through it she would also have a gorgeous view of the sunset. "I'm right across the hall, and Hiei's room is next to you." Hiei set her bag on the bed.

"It's beautiful Draco," She murmured. "Thank you."

* * *

Alex and Hiei had been at Malfoy Manor for almost a week and Alex was quite happy. She didn't see much of Lucius Malfoy, which was probably the source of her happiness. Narcissa had made her feel right at home and took the pleasure of showing Alex around the house and naming the ancestors that hung around. But Alex spent most of her time with Hiei and Draco outside where the weather and gardens were equally beautiful.

Hiei spent his time watching Draco and Alex fly around on their brooms.

"The only reason you beat me every time," said Alex one warm afternoon as they sat under the shade of a large oak. "Is because you're good at being a Seeker. I am not, I'm a Chaser. Now if we were trying to score goals, I would kick butt." Draco scoffed.

"Maybe you just let me win."

"I don't just _let_ people win, Malfoy," She always used his last name when she teased him. They sat in serene silence for a few minutes. Then Draco sprang to his feet, Alex giggled. He had been rather jumpy and edging for the past few days. Alex and Hiei were only staying for another day and then they would be going back home. Draco was not overly thrilled about this. "Ants in your pants Draco?" He glared.

"I was going to get us some drinks." She smiled.

"Sound wonderful, we'll be here." With that he departed for the Manor. Hiei, who was in a branch above her, jumped down and sat next to her.

"When are you going to tell him?" Alex groaned and leaned back against the cool back of the tree. She was silent for a moment, and was grateful that Hiei didn't push the question.

"Tonight," She finally replied. "We leave tomorrow, I can't put it off any longer."

"And you're sure you can trust him?" She gave a side glance at Hiei.

"Do you trust him?" She caught a flicker of movement and saw that Draco was making his way back to them. She had seen the way Hiei had been studying the boy for the past week. It unnerved her the way he did it, like a cat stalking it's prey. Of course, after the events in the Chamber of Secrets, he had barely left her side. Alex thought that he felt the absence of her in his heart as much as she did while he was petrified. But she trusted Hiei and his judgment above most others. Just as Draco reached them he spoke.

"I do." She exhaled the breath she had been holding.

"Draco," said Alex, as he handed her a glass of water. "I have a going away surprise for you." He tilted his head in curiosity.

"What is it?" He sat across from her and Hiei retreated back to his branch. "And really, shouldn't it be me giving you some sort of gift?"

"It's- to thank you for your hospitality this last week." She heard Hiei snort from above her. She made a mental note to hit him later. Draco's face brightened.

"Alright," said Draco, his face beaming with excitement. "When and where?" Alex poked his nose.

"It's a surprise silly," Alex took a sip of water. "Hiei will bring you to me when I'm ready." Draco looked ready to pout.

"Fine." said Draco, a frown playing at the corners of his mouth. Alex kept her glass to her mouth. _I just hope this doesn't ruin what we have Draco. I may have to wipe your memory if it doesn't go well. And who knows what that'll do to you._

_

* * *

_At dusk, Hiei retrieved Draco. He was unsure what was going to happen. He had enjoyed the week with having Alex to himself, without Potter or the Weasleys to interfere. It had been the most fun he had had in years, and actually felt upset that Hiei and Alex were leaving tomorrow. Draco watched Hiei walking ahead of him and wondered what went through his head. He never left Alex's side anymore, which Draco found rather strange.

Draco had no idea what Alex had planned. But he did know that his mother have allowed Alex private use of the rose garden. Alex had enjoyed spending her evenings there, she loved the fireflies that would appear at this time of night. He found it appropriate that she was setting up this surprise at this time.

Hiei and Draco arrived at the white picket fence that led to the garden. Large hedges surrounded the place, with magical lights twinkling in them to compliment the fireflies that floated around. Draco walked past the gate and paused when Hiei didn't follow. He turned to face the shorter boy. Draco noted that Hiei hadn't grown over the summer. "Aren't you coming?"

"I'll be nearby," said Hiei, smirking. "This is between you and Alex, I was told not to interfere. But be warned, Malfoy, I hear anything I don't like and I won't hesitate to use this." He indicated the sword that sat on his hip. Draco gulped, he never really liked the fact that Hiei carried it around. He nodded fiercely and turned back to walk further into the garden.

The roses were in full bloom. There were several different shades of reds, pinks, yellows, and whites. It smelled luscious. In the center of the garden was a stone patio with a gazebo covered with vines, where he saw that a table had been produced with a dinner setting. Candles were enchanted to float around inside the gazebo. Draco suspected his mother had helped with the set up.

Alex was standing near the far end of the table across from him. He felt his heart beat faster and his breath became shallow. _She looks gorgeous. _He thought. She was wearing a white dress with lace trimming and her hair was pulled into a high ponytail with a white ribbon, Alex wasn't wearing any shoes, but the grass was cool enough for that. Draco saw that her cloak was draped over the back of her chair, it was a deep sapphire blue to complement her eyes, which were almost a clear blue. They weren't that color earlier. He sometimes forgot that she was a Metamorphmagus. She stepped closer to him.

"Hi Draco," said Alex, more shy than he had ever seen her before. "I hope I'm not over doing it?" He shook his head. _It's more incredible than I gave her credit for. I guess the Weasley twins haven't completely rubbed off on her._ He thought. He couldn't quite produce words to describe to Alex how he felt. She gestured to the other empty seat. "Please sit!" He moved to the seat and sat. Draco saw that the china being used was one that his mother never used except on special occasions. _Mother must really like Alex if she let her use this._ He saw Alex stop and smile. He narrowed his eyes. _It's like she can read my mind sometimes._ Her smile got bigger, but she moved to her seat.

Alex snapped her fingers and food appeared on the plates. It didn't look like anything special, steak and potatoes with peas. "I didn't make it," she said. "if that's what you're wondering. It was your house elves. I didn't trust myself enough to use the kitchen. But it's all of my favorite foods. And I can say now that you'll enjoy dessert." The smile never left Alex's face. _At least she's enjoying this too. _He thought as they started eating.

It was an enjoyable dinner. They conversed about all sorts of subjects from Quidditch to the up coming school year. Draco hadn't expected anything to change. As they finished dessert; Alex's own ice cream sundaes, she started to become more quiet and withdrawn. "What's wrong Alex?" He asked, after he had finished his last bite. _She's only this way when something's bothering her. And if I'm lucky she's not upset about anything and won't blow up in my face. _He hadn't forgotten the last time she had done that.

She looked up at him, her blue eyes sparkling in the candlelight. The sun was completely set and through the vines in the gazebo, stars and fireflies intermingled in the sky. There was a small, sad smile on her lips. "Draco," her voice was quiet. "Do you trust me?"

The question struck at his heart. _Of course I trust her. How can she ask something like that?_ "Yes, of course. But why-"

She held up a hand. "Please," her voice was stronger now. As if his words had healed whatever was ailing her. "Tell, what is your opinion of demons?"

"What kind of question-"

"Draco," she chided.

He thought for a moment. His parents had told him all about the demons who helped Voldemort rise to power and fight against Dumbledore in the First War. But most wizards hated demons for their betrayal of the light. His parents regarded demons highly. They thought of them as a sort of superior race, and in some aspects they were. But a lot of demons were stupid and not very powerful at all.

"I- I don't know," He finally managed. "I've never met one, so I really can't say."

Her smile grew and wasn't so sad anymore. "Good," said Alex happily. "That's the kind of answer I was hoping for. You're open minded about the idea, but unsure of how you would deal if faced with a demon, am I correct?" Draco nodded, it was all he could do. Alex leaned in and laid a hand on his. Her finger were soft, and her nails were painted a silver color. "What if I told you that someone you knew was a demon? What would you do?" He shook his head.

_I don't like where she is going with this. _"I- what?" It hit him. Someone he knew? A demon? "Alex, are you trying to tell me something?" His heart pounded in his chest. It was a different feeling than when he had seen Alex earlier. It was nervousness, anxiousness, and probably even some fear. She sighed and stood letting go of his hand.

"Draco Malfoy, what if I told you that I am a demon?" He could feel his eyes widen. _She's a demon? But... well, yes, I guess that would explain some things. Like her ability to change form. But- _"Draco!" Her voice interrupted his thoughts.

He stared at her. "What? I was thinking." He growled. She chuckled. "Okay, so you say you're a demon, prove it."

She closed her eyes and stood away from the gazebo. "Alright." Right before his eyes, Alex changed. It was a swift transformation, possibly from practice, but he saw her ears shift and move from the sides of her head to the top and change into fox ears. A tail appeared behind her. She bared her teeth and he saw fangs. "This is my true form, Draco. I am a demon. To be more specific, a fox shape shifter." She watched him with careful eyes. Draco stayed silent for a long time. "So?" Apparently she couldn't take the silence for long.

He smiled at her. Draco stood and walked over to her and did something that even was unexpected from himself; he hugged her. "I guess I have no other choice but to believe you." She hugged back. When he pulled away he saw that she had tears in her eyes.

"I was- afraid that you might have been frightened. I wasn't sure what I would have done." Then she laughed. "Hiei's solution was to kill you." Draco blanched. She looked surprised. "Oh, right, I should probably tell you that I'm not the only demon at Hogwarts. Kurama and Hiei are demons too. And Yusuke's a half demon." Draco sank to the ground.

"Oh, bloody-" Hiei appeared behind her. He was smirking.

"Finally, now I don't have to hide any more like a coward." She elbowed him.

"At least he took it well," said Alex, she changed back to a human appearance and knelt beside him. "Draco, you have to promise that you won't tell _anyone._ Only a few handful of people know. I let you be one of them, but if you say anything, measures will be taken to rectify that." He gazed back at her. She sighed. "Your mind will be wiped."

"Oh." He thought for a moment. "Who else knows?" She glanced at Hiei who nodded.

"Harry, Hermione, all the Weasleys. And all the Professors at Hogwarts." She looked him in the eyes. They seemed to pierce into his soul. "Promise me Draco."

He sighed again. He was so tired. "I promise Alex, by Merlin, I won't tell a soul." She smiled.

"Thank you Draco," She hugged him again, and he took in the warmth her body radiated. It made him more sleepy. "Sleep now Draco. Sleep, it's been a long day."

As his eyelids drooped, he murmured three final words, "Happy Birthday, Alexandria." And he took her words to heart and fell asleep, with Alex's smiling face imprinted into his mind and his dreams.

* * *

Alex sat at her desk in her room at the Leaky Cauldron. She was trying to compose a letter to Harry. She hadn't heard from him for a few days and was growing worried. Hiei was out with Kurama in London, while Yusuke and Kazuma were in Diagon Alley showing Yukina, Botan and Kieko around. It was early in the evening. Alex glanced over at the _Daily Prophet_. On the front page was a large picture of an escapee from Azkaban, Sirius Black. It worried her to know what he was, a murderer and servant of Voldemort and traitor to her mother and Harry's parents.

Alex sighed and set her quill down. The words just weren't coming to her so she got up and went down to the dining area. She looked around for Tom, the owner of the Leaky Cauldron, but he was no where to be found. Alex stepped outside for some fresh breath and spotted Harry getting off the Knight Bus. "Harry!" She flung her arms around him.

"Hey Alex," he chuckled. She pulled him back to get a better look at him. He too, like Draco, had grown over the summer.

"I was worried when I didn't get a response to my last letter," said Alex. "But you look all right."

"Yea, I'm fine."

Tom was gathering Harry's trunk. "Come along Mr. Potter, the Minister is waiting for you." Alex swung around.

"The Minister is here?" She looked at Harry. "What did you do?" She hissed at him.

"Nothing," said Harry, waving his arms defensively. "Just- well, I did blow up my aunt."

"Oh, Harry." She turned back to Tom. "I'm going with him." Tom just nodded and led them inside and to a back private room. It was more nicely furnished than the other rooms in the Leaky Cauldron.

Standing behind a desk was a portly man in a bowler hat, this was the Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge. Hedwig was on a perch near the door. "Hedwig!" Harry went to pet her.

"Very smart owl you have there Mr. Potter, arrived here shortly before you did," said Fudge. Harry and Alex were shoved forward by Tom. "Your aunt has been deflated and her memory wiped, so there's nothing to worry about." He turned to face them. "Oh, well hello there Miss Denton."

"Minster," Alex replied with a respectful nod of her head.

"But I did underage magic," said Harry, obviously confused about this. "Aren't I suppose to be expelled or something?"

"Harry, Harry," tutted Fudge. "We don't send underage wizards to Azkaban for blowing up their aunts. Everything has been fixed and there is nothing to worry about." He repeated. Alex tugged at Harry's shirt sleeve.

**_Don't push it Harry, let sleeping dogs lie, as they say._** Harry nodded at her. He seemed to be used to her talking in his head now.

"You must be tired Harry," said Fudge. "I hear that Miss Denton and her friends have an extra bed available, I'm sure they are willing to put you up for a time?"

"Of course Minister, I would be more than happy too." answered Alex, shifting her way towards the door.

"Excellent, and I would recommend staying inside Diagon Alley. It's dangerous out there." Fudge said, looking at them carefully.

"Yes, Minister, goodnight, sir." Alex pulled Harry out of the room, Hedwig flew behind them and landed on his shoulder. Neither of them spoke until they got to Alex's room. Hedwig landed on on Genevievé's perch. Harry's trunk had already been brought up to the room.

"You'll stay in here with Hiei and I." said Alex, motioning to the bed that didn't have Hiei's or her stuff on it. She sat on her own bed. "I'm glad you're okay Harry. Fudge is right, it's not safe out there."

Harry studied her carefully. "What do you know about Sirius Black?" He asked.

"Nothing much. Just that he's a murderer and former servant of Voldemort." She replied. "Anyways, let's not talk about that." She smiled at him. "So have you heard from Ron or Hermione?"

He nodded. "Yea, Ron said that his family is in Cairo visiting Bill. And Hermione went to the Alps with her parents."

She nodded slowly, and stifled a yawn. "Yes, that's what I heard as well," She looked around. "Hm, Hiei and the others should be back by now." She looked back and caught Harry staring at her. "What?"

His lips formed a rather dark smile, the same that the Weasley twins would get when they were about to initiate a plan of theirs. "How was your week with Malfoy?"

Her eyes narrowed. "How did you hear about that?"

"Yusuke may have mentioned something," He waved his hand as if to wave the thought away. "Don't avoid the question, how was it?"

She sighed, he would not leave her alone until she said something to please his curious mind. But she decided the truth would be easier than a lie.

"It was actually more fun than I thought it would," She said, reaching out to grab a book from her nightstand. "Although it was uncomfortable at first, considering that Lucius Malfoy was there and we don't have the best history with him." She watched as Harry tried to hide a smile. "Mrs. Malfoy, Narcissa, was more polite and more kind than I expected her to be, but it could be from her being conditioned that way." Alex hesitated. She knew that this isn't what Harry really wanted to hear. He wanted to know about Draco. It wasn't so secret to their group of friends that Draco had a crush on her and pined after her like a lovesick puppy. "I- I told Draco," She muttered.

"Told him what?" Harry's hearing was becoming more keen. Alex would have to watch out for that.

"Told him about me... that I'm a demon," She looked into Harry's eyes to see the shock.

"And, how'd he take it?"

Alex smiled. That was the best part for her. "Well, surprisingly. I just hope he keeps his promise not to tell anyone."

"I'm sure he will." This caught Alex by surprise.

"I can't believe you're saying that,"

"When it comes to you," said Harry, with a yawn. "I have to give Malfoy credit. He doesn't back away easily. He's stubborn, and he will probably try and protect you as best he can."

"Which worries me," said Alex, yawning herself. "Anyway, let's get some sleep. I can barely keep my eyes open." So they changed into their pajamas and crawled into bed. "I'm glad you're here Harry. I was worried about you too." She mumbled into her pillow.

"Thanks," Harry mumbled as well. "G'night Alex."

"Night Harry," And they drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Alex and Harry spent the next week enjoying each others company. They spent most of their time in Diagon Alley, whiling away their days at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour while receiving free ice cream. They finished the rest of their summer homework assignments and even got some helpful advice from Fortescue himself. Midweek, Harry and Alex with Yusuke and Kazuma passed the Quidditch shop and spotted the new Firebolt.

"It's the fastest broom on the market," sighed Alex, she was dreaming of being a professional Quidditch player someday. "Even faster than the Nibus Two Thousand and Ones. But it costs more than our Gringott's vaults combined, it seems." Harry would catch Alex mooning over the broom on days when she ventured into the Alley on her own.

By the end of the week, everyone had bought all their school supplies for the year and were all packed and ready to go back to Hogwarts in two weeks. By the second week of their time in Diagon Alley, Harry noticed that Alex would disappear in the mornings and wouldn't reappear until later in the night. He got worried, because when he did see her, she looked tired, the dark circles under her eyes grew more and more pronounced.

"Kurama," said Harry on the second Wednesday of their stay. He was picking at his breakfast at the Leaky Cauldron. There were a few other patrons in the room, the other boys were either sleeping or already out somewhere. The red headed boy sat across from his, reading his Charms book. Kurama looked up at him with a curious glance. "Do you know what Alex is doing these days? I haven't seen her in some time and am getting a little worried."

Kurama smiled gently and set his book down. "Alex is just feeling a little anxious," he furrowed his brow, thinking about how to best phrase his words. "She's growing up, Harry. And she's rather moody and, how shall I say, fidgety." Harry tilted his head in confusion. Kurama exhaled. "You will find that Alex has different priorities than we do Harry. There will be some days that she will spend her days wrestling with Yusuke and Kuwabara, and playing pranks with the twins. Then there will be other days when she wants time to herself, and she may worry about," Kurama paused briefly. "girly things, to be blunt. She may grow out of this, but we must let it be. Don't worry about her. She'll come back in her own time." Kurama lifted his book once again. "You will also see that Hermione may act in similar ways as we get older."

Harry sat with his jaw slackened. But before he could pursue what Kurama meant in his little speech, Alex herself walked in. Harry noticed that she didn't look tired or sad, but extremely happy. Harry felt himself cheer up just being in her presence. Kurama set down his book once again. "Though I could be completely wrong," He muttered to Harry. "This is not hormones at work." Alex practically skipped up to the table. She was holding something behind her back.

"Morning boys," Her voice filled with a bubblyness Harry had never heard before. "You won't believe what I just received as a birthday gift!"

Kurama shot a quick glance at Harry and returned his attention to Alex. Alex's birthday was a little over a week ago, and as they both knew, she had spent it at the Malfoy's.

"What?" Harry asked. From behind her back Alex produced a broom. It wasn't any broom though it was-

"A Firebolt!" She nearly squealed with delight. "Can you believe it?"

Kurama stood, a look on his face that Harry didn't recognize ever being on the red head's face. "Alex, who sent it to you?"

She shrugged. "Harry, when get to school, we _have_ to test it out!" Harry smiled, he liked the idea of giving it a try. It was the best broom in the world.

"Don't ignore me Alex," Kurama growled. Harry stared at him. That was a tone Harry had never heard from him. Kurama was normally laid back and logically about his words, but these were harsh and animal like. "Where did the broom come from?"

Alex's eyes narrowed. Harry felt the change in her aura, going from happy to angry in a split second. Perhaps Kurama was wrong again and hormones played some part in her emotions. "Why does it matter to you Kurama?" When his eyes narrowed too, Alex sighed. "I don't know. The note just read, 'Happy Birthday dear Alex, I hope we can be united again soon.' I assumed it was from Draco, but I haven't had a chance to ask him."

Right before Harry's eyes was a black blur and a yelp of surprise from Alex. And once Harry blinked again he saw Hiei standing next to Kurama with the Firebolt in hand. Harry looked around, luckily the other patrons had left the room. "I want this inspected before you fly it Alex," Hiei said, handing the broom to Kurama.

"We'll send it to Koenma," Kurama said, making his way to the front door to mail it off at the Diagon Alley Owlery. "I promise you'll get it back, but only after we know it's safe-"

"You think that Draco would curse my broom!" Harry saw that she looked furious. He was nervous about being in the same room as her, but his legs wouldn't let him move from the spot.

"No," Kurama replied calmly. "But there are others in the world who would try to do you and Harry harm." Kurama gave Harry a sympathetic glance as to say, _I'm sorry you had to be involved in this outburst of hers_.

"Kurama," Harry spoke up and was angry with himself at how meek his voice sounded. All three heads turned to him. Hiei and Alex looked as if they had forgotten he was even in the room. "What is it that you know that you aren't telling me and Alex?" Surprisingly, Kurama kept calm.

"Nothing that you don't already know," He returned his sharp gaze to Alex. "I'm sorry Alex, but what I do is on Koenma's orders and it's for your safety and Harry's." He then left the Leaky Cauldron.

Alex sat down across from Harry looking utterly defeated. He felt bad, and he knew that there was something that Kurama and the other boys were hiding from him and Alex. He had seen it in the way that Hiei followed Alex around, and how Yusuke and Kuwabara would always be up until Alex came back from her escapades. Kurama was the silent one. Harry saw that he observed and protected from afar. Harry knew that he was being watched by them too. It was Koenma's orders, as Alex had told him only a few nights ago.

Hiei walked past Alex and brushed her shoulder. Something fogged into Harry's mind, voices echoed in his head, and they sounded familiar.

**_You know that Kurama only wants safety for you and Harry._** It sounded like Hiei's voice in his head. But that couldn't be, why would Hiei be in _his _head?

**_Yes, but he doesn't have to be so harsh about it._** That was Alex's voice. He knew it well from the times he and Alex had spoken telepathically to each other. **_Koenma doesn't rule our lives in this world. _**

Harry saw Hiei smirk, and felt it in his mind. **_We walk the path in the middle, and have to tread carefully in both. You are learning this as you learn about your powers. Don't forget, you are different._**

Alex scowled, and Harry saw that she managed to keep her face calm and collected despite the lip flaw. She glanced at Harry, and he suddenly felt guilt eat at his stomach. He wanted to tell them that he could hear what they were talking about, even though he probably shouldn't be able to hear it.

_**I am not the only one who is different, Hiei. **_She smiled, and Harry couldn't help but smile back. _Make her think that you're just being polite. Act like nothing seems odd. Of course, what is normal anymore?_ Harry thought to himself as he continued to 'eavesdrop' in on the conversation. **_Harry is destined for great things. I will guide him to them if I must, and I will protect him at all costs. _****He** _**is the Boy-Who-Lived, and I? I am his Guardian Demon.**_ Hiei began leaving the room, possibly to rudely awaken Yusuke and Kuwabara.

_**Do what you please, just don't get killed. I'm not getting paid to clean up the mess.**_

_**You're not getting paid at all. **_And that was the end of the conversation. Or so Harry thought, since there was a slight pause. Then he heard,

_**You should really teach Harry that it's impolite to eavesdrop on others conversations. And you should learn to shield your mind better, I don't get paid to teach you that either.**_ Harry saw the color drain out of Alex's face. She stood abruptly and turned to him.

* * *

"How much did you hear?" She asked Harry. She felt her body tingle as Harry withdrawn from her mind. From the looks of it, he didn't know what he was doing. _It's subconscious and possibly unconscious. What else in my mind? What memories can he see? _

"Just what you and Hiei were discussing," Harry ducked his head in embarassment. "I didn't mean to." Alex softened her gaze.

"I know Harry. I will talk with Hiei about training you to harness the telepathy," Alex put a finger to her chin and sat back down. "I must have awakened something in you when I first used it on you. Hiei's the best teacher for it," She smiled at him. "Unfortunately, he's taught me everything he can. _I_ will have to look elsewhere for guidance."

Harry looked back up at her. There was a curious sheen to his eyes. "Alex, where have you been going these past few days?" The smile on her face disappeared.

"Uh," She couldn't think up an excuse. Only Hiei knew where she had been going, but that was only because he wanted to make sure she was safe. _At least Harry didn't see that memory... If he's seen any._ "I really would rather not talk about it. It's a private matter."

"Oh," Alex felt bad sure, but it would be better this way. She knew that the others would find out soon enough, but she wasn't ready for them to know yet. "Right, well. Thank you Alex."

Alex titled her head. "Hm? What for?"

"For protecting me," He smiled. "For being my 'Guardian Demon' as you put it."

She waved it off. "Yea, yea." There was a sharp yell from upstairs and a black blur that went past them out the door. Alex swore she heard maniacal laughing as it went by.

* * *

The next morning, Harry woke up to a loud swear followed by, "FRED! GEORGE!" He learned that when the Weasleys arrived that morning and learned that they were at the Leaky Cauldron, the twins had come up stairs and charmed Alex's skin to turn the colors of their House; Gryffindor. How they had done it, Harry didn't know, since they were still underage wizards. What he did know was that Alex's shifting abilities did not counter the effect. She then spent half her morning chasing the twins around the main room of the Leaky Cauldron, swearing at them and demanding that they change her back.

Only with a stern look from Mrs. Weasley and her threatening to take away their privileges of experimenting, did they fix Alex's skin.

"We only wanted to greet you properly, Lexi." said George later when everyone was at a large table eating breakfast. Harry had never heard anyone call her that before, but disregarded it as Ron distracted him by telling him about their trip to Cairo.

"It was amazing Harry!" said Ron, showing him the well worn newspaper article. "The tombs and mummies and such. And with the prize money mum and dad got, I got a new wand." Harry smiled. The Weasleys were always strapped for gold, and he would gladly have given up half his gold in Gringotts for them, but they were a proud pureblood family and would never accept such an offer.

"Now you all have all your school things?" Mrs. Weasley asked them.

"Yes, ma'am," replied Alex. She had Fred in a headlock. "We're all set to leave for school tomorrow."

Kurama came downstairs with Hiei. "Good morning Mrs. Weasley, Mr. Weasley." He said, then turned to Alex. "Koenma received the broomstick and both he and Professor Dumbledore are giving it a complete examination. If everything checks out, you'll have it back before the first match."

Alex completely ignored him. She hadn't spoken to him since he had come pack from the Post. Fred, George and Ron looked at her curiously. "Broomstick? You got a new one?" George asked.

She glared at Kurama, a look that Harry was almost sure would set the red head on fire. "I _had_ a new broom," Her eyes sparkled. "It was a Firebolt!" She sighed. Harry felt a ping of jealousy. But tampered it down again. It had been her birthday gift. He still had a good broom. The Weasleys looked at her in disbelief, then after registering what she had said, their gazes turned to Kurama, who suddenly looked uncomfortable.

"You took away her _Firebolt?_" gasped Ron.

"What's _wrong_ with you?" said the twins in perfect harmony. Alex looked so proud of them.

"At least I'm not alone in this decision." She smiled smugly at Kurama, and Harry was instantly reminded of Draco Malfoy. _I wonder how much contact she's had with him since she left the Manor?_

_**Plenty Harry.  
**_

Her voice echoed in his head. She was looking at him with a displeased frown. Last night he had spent some time trying out his new found telepathic abilities and had sneaked into her mind and found that he could see her memories, not just her thoughts. He had seen all that had transpired the night Alex told Malfoy about her secret, before she had been able to kick him out of her head. She had then proceeded to yell at him for several minutes about how rude it was to look in ones mind without permission. She also told Hiei that once term started, he would teach Harry how to control his gift. For the sake of shutting her up, Hiei had agreed to do so.

* * *

Alex managed to escape from the twins on the train. They had been following her ever since yesterday trying to find out where she was sneaking off too. She had been planning to visit Draco before they got to the school, but found it impossible with the twins and Lee Jordan following her around. They were being as bad as Hiei. She found what she thought was an empty compartment and entered it.

"Hello Alex," She turned to see Harry, Ron and Hermione sitting there with what looked like a sleeping rag. Upon closer inspection, she saw that it was an older gentleman, in robes that didn't quite seem to fit him properly. She sat next to Harry.

"Hi guys," She glanced around seeing that it was just them, and then returned her gaze to the sleeping man. "Who's this?"

"Professor R. J. Lupin." said Hermione, pointing at his suitcase.

"Our newest Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?" ventured Alex. They nodded in agreement. There was silence among them for several tense moments. Then Hermione spoke.

"Alex," said Hermione. Alex gave her a suspicious glance. With the way she said her name, the conversation can't end well. "We're worried about you." Alex arched an eyebrow.

"Worried about me?" She repeated. "What for?"

The three of them glanced at each other. "You were disappearing over the break, Alex, and you wouldn't tell anyone about it. Sirius Black is on the prowl, you shouldn't be going off on your own."

Alex sighed. Alex's bang had covered her eyes, and she glanced at them with a bowed head. "Please, don't worry. Hiei's been keeping a close eye on me and goes everywhere I go. If anyone needs to be careful, it's you Harry." She gave a side glance, tilting her head in his direction. If she could, she was going to turn the conversation away from her. "You have developed what is normally a demon ability; I am partly to blame for that. But-" She wasn't able to finish, because the train jerked to a halt. The lights flickered off.

"Ow, Ron that was my foot!" said Hermione.

Ron was leaning towards the window trying to look out it. It was dark, and raining. "There's something moving out there." He murmured.

Alex shuddered and her breathing turned into short quick breaths. It had become extremely cold, extremely fast. The train creaked, and there was murmuring outside their compartment.

To Alex's sharp ears it sounded like low breathing through a rubber tube. She leaned into Harry, something was digging into hers bones, and she couldn't help but be frightened. Harry wrapped one arm around her, and she felt comforted.

A dark figure formed on the compartment window. The door slid open and a rotting hand curled around the door frame and seemed to- peer in? Alex wasn't sure whether it could actually see, for the- thing- was cloaked. It was also- well, Alex wasn't sure what it was. It reeked of death and decay, stinging her nose like the sting of a bee. All the happiness rushed out of her body like a flood, and she wanted to reach for it, like it would never come back again if she didn't try to stop it. As soon as the creature got closer, Harry's grip on her tightened and he fainted.

"Harry!" cried Alex. Alex was terrified of the thing. It felt like death and Alex didn't like death, she was frightened of it.

Before the cloaked figure could get any closer, Lupin stood pulled out his wand and said, "Expecto Patronum!" A silvery light flooded out from the tip of his wand and scared off the creature.

Alex felt as if life was flooding back into her body. She didn't feel unhappy or cold anymore, though she was still absolutely terrified. She reached over to Harry and shook him by the shoulder. "Harry, wake up Harry." said Alex, as the lights flickered back on and the train started moving again. Harry shook his head and his eyes fluttered open.

"What happened?" He shielded his eyes from the lights with his hand. Alex helped him sit up. "What were those things?"

"Dementors," answered Lupin, handing him a bit of chocolate from a bar he found in his pocket. "Eat this, it'll help." Alex looked at Lupin.

"What are dementors?" she asked.

"Guards of Azkaban," he said quietly. "Now, I need to go speak with the driver, excuse me." And he left.

Harry looked at them all. "So who screamed?" They all tilted their heads and passed him curious glances. Alex shook her head.

"No one screamed Harry," she shuddered. _He must have heard it in his head. Did the dementors cause it?_ "Though I did feel-" She stopped short. She didn't like the idea of revealing a weakness to anyone, even her friends.

"Like you'd never be happy again?" said Ron. He saved her from having to reveal any more than that. She nodded and shivered. Then a thought hit her like lightening. What of the others? She stood.

"Stay here, and watch Harry," said Alex. And before they could say anything more, Alex left the compartment and bolted down the corridor, looking in each compartment for any sign of Yusuke, Kurama and Kuwabara. She found them in the middle of the train, looking about as haggard as she felt. She slid the door open, forcing her body to calm itself down. "Are you guys alright?" They looked at her and nodded. In the compartment was Ginny, Neville and a couple of Hufflepuffs, she remembered from last year; Justin Finch-Fletchley and Ernie Macmillan. She sighed a breath of relief. "Good. I'm going to look for Hiei and Draco." She turned to leave, but a hand caught her arm. It was cold. She turned back to face Kurama.

"Are you alright?" He asked carefully. She knew that he was still weary of her since he took away her Firebolt. She smiled and touched his hand in a reassuring gesture.

"Yes," replied Alex. "I'm fine. Harry fainted, but he's been taken care of. Now please, may I go?" He released her and she set off further towards the front of the train.

Alex looked in a compartment in the front car of the train and found several Slytherin girls huddled together. Alex recognized them as Pansy Parkinson, Millecent Blustrode and her friend Maria Moorland. In another corner of the compartment was Draco who sat between Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle and across from them was Hiei, next to Hiei sat Blaise Zabini. She slid the door open, sighing in relief to see that they were okay. As soon as the door slid open, a pair of arms found her heck. For a brief moment she thought it was Maria, but she saw that unforgettable blonde hair. She returned the gesture enthusiastically. "It's good to see you're okay Draco," She muttered into his shoulder. She pulled back and looked at the group of girls. "You three alright?" They nodded together, as though they were one three headed being. She smiled.

"Do _you_ know what all that was about?" That was Zabini. She and him had gotten off on the wrong foot at the beginning of her and Draco's friendship, but they had slowly been warming to each other.

"Apparently they were dementors." The girls gasped from their part of the compartment. She felt pressure on her hand, she glanced at Draco, who was grasping her hand for dear life, although his face was brave and proud, his eyes were screaming with fear. She squeezed his hand back.

**_Nothing, Draco, will happen to you. _**She said in his mind. She had done this before, so he wouldn't jump every time she or Hiei did so. **_I promise._**

**_Thanks._** She smiled at him. The train screeched and came to a halt. "We must be at the school." She let go of Draco's hand and made her way out of the compartment. "I have to go make sure Harry's okay. See you up at the castle." She waved them goodbye. _Finally, now maybe we can get some answers about why the guards of Azkaban are boarding trains._**_  
_**


	2. Buckbeak and Mind Delving

Well, here's Chapter two. I'm sure you all can already guess what's going on, but I don't want to go into a full blown reveal yet. It has to wait just a bit longer. Perhaps the next chapter or the one after that. I also hope to start introducing more of the demon influence into the story soon. Anyway, please enjoy!

* * *

Harry sat at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall. All the first years had been sorted and they were now waiting for Professor Dumbledore to begin his start of the term speech. Alex sat next to him, and would cast him worried glances every few seconds. "Alex, stop it, please." He finally said after the umpteenth glance. "I'm fine, really."

She let out a little breath of relief and opened her mouth to say something, but she was interrupted by a hiss from behind them. They both turned and saw Malfoy leaning close to them from the Slytherin table. "Is it true Potter? Did you really faint on the train?" He snickered and Goyle imitated fainting.

"How did he find out?" Ron whispered. "Did you tell him Alex?" She shook her head earnestly and shoved Harry's shoulder to look away from Malfoy. But he didn't.

"Shove off, Draco." She hissed. Malfoy's eyes widened. Apparently he was not expecting a rebuttal from Alex.

He studied her for a moment. Then laughed. "You just think you're so tough, don't you Lexi?"

Her lips formed a rather dark smile. "Tougher than you Malfoy. I'll take you in a duel any day."

He scoffed and turned back to his table-mates.

"A new game you two are playing, Alex?" Hermione whispered. The dark smile never left her lips.

"Maybe." replied Alex.

Dumbledore stood and greeted the students. "Welcome!" The candlelight sparkled off his half moon spectacles and Harry felt better than he had after eating the chocolate. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts, and for some of you your first year at Hogwarts. I have a few announcements before we dig into a spectacular feast," Harry suspected he was going to say something about the dementors that were on the train. "As you may have noticed, Hogwarts is playing host to some of the dementors of Azkaban, who are here on Ministry of Magic business," A crease formed in Dumbledore's brow. He must not be happy about the dementors at the school, Harry thought. "It is not in the nature of a dementor to be forgiving or understanding. If you were to encounter one, there will be no mercy. I hope that none of you will give them any reason to harm you." He looked out among the students who were all very tense.

"On a happier note," Dumbledore continued, a smile appearing on his face. "I would like to welcome a couple of new teachers. First is Professor Lupin, who had kindly consented to fill the Defense Against the Dark Arts position." Lupin stood up from his spot and bowed his head as people in the hall clapped for him. Harry was able to study him a little better. He was pale, thin and his clothes were more shabby than they had appeared on the train. Harry stopped clapping, it wasn't his eyes he was seeing Lupin through. There was a little extra distance, it also seemed a little odd for him to be seeing the back of his own head. It dawned on him like a crashing wave that it was Alex's eyes that he was seeing though. Apparently, Alex had now noticed that she was not alone in her sight or mind. With a swift kicking sensation, Harry was sent back to his own eyes and received a very dark look from Alex.

_**Your training starts tomorrow.**_ It was all she said. The clapping died and Lupin sat down.

"Professor Kettleburn has decided leave us and retire with what remaining limbs he has. However, I am delighted to appoint our very own Rubeus Hagrid as your new Care of Magical Creatures teacher." The applause from the Gryffindor table was the loudest. Hagrid was immensely red under his thick black beard an awkward grin plastered on his face. "Now then! Let the feast begin!" And at his words, food filled the golden plates in front of them and Harry felt even more hungry than he thought he was as he dug into his food.

* * *

Alex headed down to the dungeons. Everyone was already in bed, but she couldn't sleep. How could she after what Harry had done? Granted, he didn't know he had done it until it was too late, but he had done it never the less. She had already spoken with Hiei about beginning Harry's telepathy training tomorrow evening. She would be there of course, to make sure that Hiei's anger didn't get the best of him as it had done with her in the past. There were things that she didn't want Harry to know about. Sure she trusted him completely, if he did find out something, to not tell anyone, but that didn't stop her from not wanting him to actually _know_ about it.

She maneuvered the halls in the dungeons, knowing that the person she sought would still be awake. Hiei could not complete the training she needed. It was a self taught skill to read someone's mind or to block people from seeing their own. She did not have this natural ability, as Harry and Hiei did. But there was another way she could learn. Alex stopped at the wooden door. She took a breath and gathered her courage and knocked. "Enter." Alex opened the door and stepped inside.

"Good evening Professor," said Alex, as she shut the door behind her. It was Professor Snape's office she was visiting this evening. It was his help she was going to be requesting. One of the things she had been doing during her disappearances while at Diagon Alley was corresponding with Professor Snape. "I hope I'm not disturbing you?"

His eyes narrowed at her, as if was one of the most ridiculous things she could be asking him. "Of course not, Denton. I assume you are here to speak of the content of your letters." His voice was low and cold. There were unknown reasons to his dislike of her and Harry. She nodded, her heartbeat quickening.

"Sir, I was hoping that you would be willing to teach me Occlumency and Llegimens," Alex spoke rather quickly. She was terrified of what she would do if Snape turned her away. All the professors at Hogwarts knew that she and the Detectives were demons, so as to be able to help protect the students better. Snape regarded her for a second.

"And why do you think I am the best suited candidate for your request?" He said, standing up from his desk that he had been sitting behind. He moved around it in a fluid motion and walked over to a bookshelf, searching for something.

"I- well- I've spoken with Professor Dumbledore and he tells me that you could help me, if I asked," said Alex. She had sent letters to Dumbledore over the summer, hoping that it would be him who could teach her. She wasn't going to tell Snape but she had even tried to penetrate his mind. She had found walls of a misty, fluid silver, it was nothing of the likes of which she had encountered before. Hiei's walls were a cloudy black, and the Darkness dragon seemed to patrol for intruders. He turned to face her, a large, leather bound book in his hands. His eyes were narrowed and calculating. Alex leaned back, and wanted to huddle into herself.

"You should not try to delve into another mind without permission, Miss Denton," said Snape, in his low voice. "I have felt you trying to find ways past my Occlumency walls. It will not work at your level. You have to be stronger." He stepped closer to her and held out the book. "Read this," She took the book from him, her eyes never leaving his. "If you manage to understand what it says, come back to me, and we will begin your lessons. If not," He turned to a door that Alex guessed led to his private chambers. "Then return the book to me and never request something like this again."

Her jaw hung open, then realizing how rude that looked, she shut it again and muttered, "Yes, sir. Thank you Professor." And left the room. Once outside his office, Alex opened the book. The letters were ones that she had not seen since she was a child. They weren't any human language known in the Muggle or wizarding world. _How did he get his hands on a book written in the ancient _Khukui_ language? _The _Khukui_, if Alex remembered correctly, were an ancient tribe of demons. Some still lived in the demon realm, but they were reclusive. She looked at the page she had opened to. Some words were familiar to her, but she would have to do some serious studying and researching in order to fully learn the language and read the book. Alex sighed and closed the book and made her way back to the tower, only pausing for a brief moment by the stone wall that led to the Slytherin House.

She could call out to Draco right now and he would be there in a instant, she felt the need to talk to him, a time when they wouldn't be interrupted by other students. But when she found his mind, it was immersed in a dream, one that made a faint smile form on her lips. _Sweet dreams, Draco_. She thought and then continued to the tower. She would have to compose a letter to Koenma so that she could send it out tomorrow morning. She needed books and papers that recorded the _Khukui_ symbols and meanings.

* * *

The next morning, the first morning of classes, Alex felt excited and anxious. She had gotten up early to go to the Owlery so that she could send her letter to Koenma. She hoped that he would comply, for it was such a simple request, it seemed silly to Alex if he told her no.

Now she sat in the North Tower, tapping her fingernail on the rim of her teacup, utterly bored. The class was waiting for Professor Trelawney to emerge from her office and begin class. _I really should have listened to Fred and George when they told be this class was a load of dung. _The classroom itself was rather ridiculous; twenty circular tables were scattered across the tiered room, each table had two or three armchairs, the curtains on the windows were closed, candles on the tables provided meager lighting. A fire was burning, which provided the rest of the light, and also made the room stiflingly warm. Shelves wound around the outer edges of the room, filled with tarot cards, crystal balls and of course, books. Harry, Ron and Hermione sat at the table next to her, looking as bored as she felt. Yusuke and Hiei sat at her table, also looking bored. Kurama had been smart and didn't sign up for this class, but instead was taking Arithmancy. Kuwabara was taking Muggle Studies.

"Welcome," said a soft, misty, lowish voice called into the room. They turned to see a woman of middle age, weary draped multi-colored robes making her thin frame look a little awkward in them. She had large glasses that magnified her eyes to almost double their size. "Welcome to Divination young ones. I must warn you that if you do not possess the Sight, there will be little I can teach you. Books can only take you so far..."

Alex had to take a glance at Hiei. He possessed what Trelawney would have called the Third Eye. It made her giggle a little to try and imagine if Trelawney could see under the bandage wrapped around his forehead. Trelawney continued, "You boy," She pointed to Neville, who blanched. "Is your grandmother well?"

"I think so," Neville whispered. She had walked over to his table and picked up his teacup and looked in it.

"Oh," She set his cup down and said nothing more. Neville looked in the cup along with Dean Thomas, who both looked utterly confused. "Now, take the cup from the person next to you and try to interpret the dregs at the bottom, consult you book _Unfogging the Future_," The tinkling of cups could be heard from around the classroom as people grabbed each others teacups.

Alex peered into Yusuke's cup, and looked at her book. "I think I see some clouds here, which means- trouble, and, hm, I think this is an hourglass, which says you need to decide on something. So maybe you're going to have trouble deciding on something?" **_This is the stupidest thing ever!_** She complained to Yusuke. He just smiled and continued to 'fake' interpret Hiei's teacup. Hiei wasn't even trying with hers. He just sat there with an unreadable face.

Professor Trelawney was listening to Ron and his failing attempts to interpret Harry's dregs. Trelawney had taken the cup from him. She took a couple glances at it and then gasped and set the cup down. "My dear! You have- the Grim!" She said, rather dramatically.

"What's the Grim?" Ron asked.

"The Grim, my boy, the Grim!" was all Trelawney said, as if they should know exactly what that was.

Yusuke flipped through his book and found the passage. "The Grim," He read aloud. "is an omen that comes in the shape of a giant black dog- the worst omen- an omen of death," They all looked at Harry who could only stare into his cup and try and find the Grim that Trelawney had found.

* * *

"Harry, will you stop worrying about that stupid omen Trelawney _thought_ she saw?" Hermione grumbled as they stepped into a clearing in the nicer part of the Forbidden Forest. It was used for presentations of magical creatures for their Care of Magical Creatures class.

Harry looked at his feet and adjusted his bag on his shoulder. "Sorry, it's just, I dunno, strange." He muttered to his feet. He felt an arm sling across his shoulders. Looking up he saw Alex, she was smiling brightly. He knew the whole thing had been quite a joke to her. Something he also saw were two bright steel eyes on a shadowed face. He shook his head; another vision in Alex's memories. His training would begin that evening after dinner. He was frightfully nervous about working with Hiei.

"Harry, don't worry about it so much," she said as they found spots near the fence in the clearing. A few other Gryffindors, Slytherins and Hufflepuffs were already there. She let go of his shoulder and pulled out the _Monster Book of Monsters_ that was wrapped with rope to prevent it from biting her. Other students had their books wrapped similarly. "You haven't seen a big black dog lately, have you?"

"Well-"

"Look who's here," A drawling voice called from their left. They all turned, save for Alex, and saw Malfoy flanked by Crabbe and Goyle. Hiei had come down from Divination with them, but made no move to stand at Draco's right shoulder, as he used to do. Now Hiei stood at Alex's shoulder, and Harry couldn't understand that relationship.

"Shove off Malfoy," said Ron. "We really don't want to deal with your crud today." Harry didn't miss the dirty look that passed Alex's eyes, aimed at Ron, not Malfoy.

"What do you want Malfoy?" Harry asked, unable to hide his curiosity. Malfoy looked at Alex, an unrecognized look in his eyes.

"I'm taking this class of course," He replied, his tone not matching the look on his face. "Though I didn't know that that oaf Hagrid would be teaching it. I just might have to reconsider my choice," He trailed off as Alex pulled her wand out.

"_Enough Malfoy,_" she hissed at him. Crabbe and Goyle advanced on her, but to Harry's surprise she stood her ground, as though the two fairly large boys didn't scare her. Harry hadn't seen her so hostile to Malfoy since their first year. Harry looked at Malfoy who actually looked worried that she might hex him. He instantly looked at the ground, but didn't mutter an apology.

"Crabbe, Goyle, back off," said Malfoy. They looked at him, but didn't question, and backed to his sides.

"Everythin' alright here?" Hagrid walked into the clearing, dead ferrets hung around his neck.

"Of course Hag- Professor," Alex turned and Harry saw none of the raging hostility that had been there but the face of an angel plastered on her face, her wand had disappeared into her shirt sleeve; it was still a little too warm to be wearing their robes outside. Hagrid's face flushed at her calling him Professor.

"Alright then, I've got a special treat for yeh all," He whistled and they waited in abated nervousness. Hagrid was known for his like of dangerous creatures.

After a few tense moments, out from behind a clump of trees walked an unusual creature. The top half looked like an eagle with antlers, feathers gleamed all the way down to his top haunches, which were actually sturdy talons rather than horses legs, where wings sprouted up and outward, and the bottom half was that of a horse speckled gray and strong.

"This," said Hagrid looking very proud. "is Buckbeak. He's a hippogryph." He threw one of the ferrets at Buckbeak who caught it and swallowed it whole. "Hippogryphs are proud creatures. Yeh should never insult one, 'cause it may be the last thing yeh ever do." Harry glanced at Alex, who had that apprehensive, but appreciative look in her eyes. He felt the same way, he was quite proud of Hagrid's first lesson going well so far. "Yeh always wanna wait for the hippogryph teh make the first move, it's polite. Then yeh bow before him and wait for him teh bow back, if he does, then yeh can touch him.

"So who wants teh go firs'?" Harry heard a shuffle of feet and thought that everyone was moving forward, all wanting a chance to touch the great beast. When he turned though, everyone but himself and Alex had stepped backwards. "Excellent! But I think only one o' yeh should go first, Alex how about you?"

She smiled and stepped forward, making her way next to Hagrid. "Now, Alex," Hagrid's voice could be heard from where the class stood. "Just stand before Buckbeak and bow, and keep yer eyes locked with his."

Alex move with a grace Harry hadn't ever noticed before. She took a few steps forward and bowed low, keeping her head up and her eyes on Buckbeak. Buckbeak's large orange eyes connected with hers. he made a little chirruping noise and inched closer to her. Harry admired Alex's bravery. She didn't move or flinch. He studied her, learning at what he should do when it came to be his turn in front of the hippogryph. Then something happened to Harry that he wasn't expecting. He was in Alex's head again, seeing her thoughts. _Stay absolutely still, you move and you'll be in the hospital wing. Is that what you want? What would Draco say? He'd probably throw a temper tantrum, again. Of course, I have every right to be angry with him, what with the stunt he pulled today, he has every right to fear me- _Then Harry was thrown out of her head by a force he had not seen in her mind before; a long black dragon roared at him.

**_I would not advise doing that again, Potter._** A male voice growled at him. Harry turned and saw Hiei glaring at him with such intensity, he thought that he would catch fire right where he stood.

Harry turned back to Alex when the class cheered. She had received the approval of Buckbeak and was now stroking his feathers gently, she showed no sign of knowing that he had once again intruded into her thoughts with out her permission. Harry knew his abilities were spiraling out of control at a rapid rate. But one thing nagged at Harry; she was so _absorbed_ in thoughts about Malfoy, it almost seemed unnatural. He knew that there was something going on, and he was going to find out what it was and he would use his new telepathy ability to do so if necessary.

* * *

Alex felt the eyes of her peers on the back of her head. But she continued to stroke Buckbeak's feathers, they were quite soft and well taken care of. "You're such a sweet thing aren't you?" She crooned at him. He clicked his beak in reply. "Very good Alex!" said Hagrid, beaming happily at her. She smiled back and stepped away from Buckbeak. A gray brackish mist hovered over her eyes momentarily and disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. What was Hiei doing in her mind? That was what his mind shields looked like. Had Harry been in her mind again? What had he heard if he was?

Alex shook her head of these thoughts and walked to Hagrid. "Alrigh' Harry, it's your turn."

Alex watched as he hesitantly stepped forward. "Now, remember what Alex did there with Buckbeak." spoke Hagrid, nudging the boy forward when he hesitated next to the half giant. Alex stepped back, not wanting to interfere with Buckbeak's judgment of Harry. She found herself standing next to Maria Moorland when she stopped backing away.

"Is there something wrong between you and Malfoy?" Maria asked cautiously. "You seem to be butting heads in the past couple of days. It's only the first day of classes and the angry sparks are already flying. Alex had to smile. The ruse was working well, better than she had anticipated.

"A little," said Alex, setting a soft disappointed sigh into her words. "I really haven't a clue as to why. We parted ways on good terms when I left the manor earlier this summer-"

"So it true?" Millicent spoke up in a soft whisper. Alex watched Harry out of the corner of her eye. He was doing well with Buckbeak. Hagrid was hoisting Harry up onto the hippogryph's back. _Lucky, getting to ride Buckbeak. Oh well, it buys me time. _"You really did stay at Malfoy Manor?"

"Yes," Alex tilted her head to the side. With this view she could see Draco staring at her from his leaning position on the fence. "Why does that seem so shocking? Mrs. Malfoy had invited me herself. It wasn't just Draco."

"I heard," said Maria, a sharp glint in her eye. One that Alex had never really liked, one that reminded her of the Dark families these girls came from. "that Malfoy and you are, well-"

"Well what?" Alex's voice became hard as stone. Draco sat up immediately, Goyle and Crabbe took a step towards her and the other girls. Apparently her voice had raised in tone as well.

Maria lowered her voice to a harsh whisper, "That you two are an item."

"That's ridiculous!" Alex laughed and glanced at Draco, he was already walking over to them. Hagrid whistled and Buckbeak came gliding down into the clearing. Harry jumped off the hippogryph's back, looking elated. Alex had to smile, it was nice to see him looking so happy. She glanced back to Draco, who had a jealous tint in his eyes.

* * *

Draco was jealous and angry. Maria and Millicent were harassing Lexi about something and Potter had gotten to fly on the hippogryph. It just wasn't fair! He wanted so very badly to defend Lexi from what ever the girls were saying to her, and to try and one up Potter.

Trumping Potter seemed to matter more in this instance.

Draco stepped towards the now neglected hippogryph. "You're not so tough, are you?" He taunted.

"Draco!" He barely heard Alex's plea in his name.

He continued walking towards Buckbeak. "Yea, you're not so dangerous are you you great brute." The words had barely slipped off his tongue when Buckbeak reared back and lashed out with his large talons. Draco saw white, and felt pain in his right arm.

"Draco?" A familiar female voice called his name, and he felt soft, gentle hands brush his arm as if it were porcelain. He didn't open his eyes, not wanting to see the hurt, and probable anger that would fill Lexi's eyes.

"It hurts!" He cried. If he could, he would play up the pain as much as possible, it actually didn't hurt very much, and was probably nothing more than a wide scratch. He felt large arms scoop him up like a giant bag of flour.

"I'll take 'im up to the hospital wing," came Hagrid's voice, almost booming in his ear. Draco still had not opened his eyes. "Class dismissed."

_**Don't think that you're out of trouble, Malfoy. You won't be able to get away while you're stuck in the hospital wing.**_ Lexi's voice was vicious in his head. He pictured the fox form of herself baring teeth and fur standing up on end in anger. It was not a pretty sight.

He certainly was in for an earful when he was cleared for visitors, and now regretted his decision of not protecting her from Millicent and Maria for trying to best Potter.

* * *

"Harry, don't worry, I'll be there with you," said Alex. She was standing in the Gryffindor common room with Harry. Ron was playing a game of wizard chess with Kurama and Hermione was helping Yusuke with their first Potions essay of the year.

"He's going to end up killing me, I know you've wanted to a couple of times now," He glanced at her from under a curtain of hair. She sighed.

"It's not like that Harry," said Kurama, having one of his knights take out one of Ron's pawns. "You're sensitive to the new powers you have. Alex may have thought about killing you, but she would never act upon that impulse."

Alex reached out to Harry and brushed away the hair that hung in front of his face and rubbed her thumb over his lightning bolt scar. There was a tingle in her moon scar on her left eye. He flinched from the unexpected gesture. "Everything's going to be fine Harry. Hiei is the best teacher for you." She pulled her hand away. Harry slowly nodded.

"Alright."

"Then let's go Harry," said Alex making her way to the portrait hole, Harry followed her, albeit cautiously.

Alex led the way to a classroom on the fourth floor that McGonagall had given them permission to use to train when it was raining outside. She was bringing her bag which carried the book that she had received from Snape. It also contained several scrolls that Koenma had sent immediately to her to help her decipher the book. They entered the classroom and found Hiei standing in the middle of the room.

"I'll be over here," said Alex, settling into a nearby desk. She was mostly there to keep an eye on Hiei, make sure he didn't push Harry too far beyond his limits; after all, Harry was still just human. She also hoped that she was far enough away from the fray that Harry wouldn't be able to get a glimpse into her head.

Hiei glanced at her but said nothing. She knew that his attention would have to be fully focused on Harry for this.

"So what exactly are we going to do?" said Harry, his voice was shaky. Hiei made him nervous, Alex noticed. _He does that to most people though_.

"We are going to train you and your mind to stay where they belong," said Hiei in his forceful, commanding voice. "In your own head."

"You're making it sound as if it's my fault that I wander into Alex's head-" He stopped short and glanced at Alex apologetically. She shook her head to show him that she understood. It really wasn't his fault, and with Hiei's help he will be able to hone his ability and use it freely.

Alex opened the book and scrolls as Harry summoned some pillows in case he fell from Hiei's force of training and they began.

The scrolls were very old, but provided a perfection translation and pronunciation of the _Khukui_ language. _Thank you Koenma, this is perfect._ Alex pulled out a few blank parchments and began transcribing the book into English.

She was a few pages in when she began feeling a tugging at the edge of her mind. She was plunged into a deep darkness. There was a light in the center of the darkness, like a stage light shining from above. In the single light was herself, and someone else- they were embracing. But even she couldn't see who it was, and that bothered her. Was it Draco? Or someone else? Alex turned her head and saw Harry standing next to her looking stunned and frightened. "_Out! Now!_" She screamed. The figures under the light turned to face them, and Harry gasped, Alex had her back turned and her hand on Harry's upper arm, pulling him out of the depths of her mind.

Alex opened her eyes, and lifted her head, a parchment stuck to her cheek. She pulled it off and strode over to Harry, who was lying on his back amongst some purple plush pillows. She pulled him to his feet with astounding strength. "What did you see?" She growled. Hiei was standing back, unsure of what exactly had happened.

"I saw-" choked Harry, scared of the probable fiery look in her eyes. She closed them and set Harry down, telling herself to calm down.

"Tell me Harry, what did you see?" She spoke a little more gently, though she she couldn't quite keep the growl out of her throat.

* * *

Harry shuddered at the growl in Alex's words. She truly was hiding something. Or, was it that even she didn't know what she was hiding and him to tell her what he had seen?

"I just saw you, Lexi," He decided using her new found nickname would help calm her. He had to lie, pretend that he saw nothing else, while he figured out what the hell was going on. This seemed to appease her for now. She let go of his shirt and took a deep breath.

"Sorry, Harry, I didn't mean to react like that," She sounded sad, and full of regret. "I wish I hadn't." She smiled at him, and that smile unnerved him. It wasn't one that Alex normally bore on her face. "I'll try harder to help rather than hinder you, Harry."

"I think we're done for tonight. Tomorrow, same time Potter." Harry nearly jumped, he had almost forgotten that Hiei was with them. He nodded at the boy as he left the room.

"Harry, I want to show you something," Alex said from the desk she had been working at. Harry walked over and looked at the parchments and scrolls on the table. Some of them were in English but most had strange markings that he didn't recognize.

"What is this?" said Harry, picking up the book that bore the strange markings.

"It's a book written in _Khukui_. A demon language almost forgotten among my people," said Alex waving her hand over the scrolls. Harry looked and saw that they were translations of the demon language. "It's a project for me. So that I may be able to keep you and others out of my mind." She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "Tell me, did you see the- dragon, that protects Hiei's mind?" Harry noticed that she practically choked on the word 'dragon'. He nodded. It was a fierce thing, Harry remembered as it had shoved him out of Alex's mind earlier and Hiei had used it against him in their training.

"It is our hope that you will soon be able to do that yourself. To have a protector of your own mind," She sighed, and Harry hoped that what had been bothering her was about to leave her mouth. "I, well, I have to work the hard way to get that. Since I am not a natural telepath as you seem to be, I have to find other means to protect my mind."

"And," Harry wanted to push her until she at least told him some of the truth. "How are you doing that? Does this book have some sort of spell to help you?" She looked at him and her eyes widened, as though the thought had never even crossed her mind.

"It's- it's possible," She hesitated and took the book from him, running her fingers down on of the pages. "But I don't think that's what he had in mind for me when he wanted me to figure this book out."

"Who's 'he'?" Harry asked, tilting his head in curiosity. There was more to this than Alex was letting on. He didn't remember Alex being this complicated in their first two years here. Her face paled and her muscles tightened but Harry forced her eyes to stay locked with his. "I don't want to force it, but I will find a way into your head if you don't tell me, Lexi."

She relaxed and, surprisingly, smiled. "Well, you are a pushy person, aren't you? Why do you care so much Harry?"

"Because," It felt strange for him to be the target of questioning now. Now he felt Alex's uneasiness. "You're the only family I have left, besides the Dursley's, if they could count as family. I care about you, I worry about you." It was kind of embarrassing to admit that. But maybe if he could admit that, then Alex would reveal some of her own secrets. Then Alex surprised him by pulling him in a tight embrace. Startled for a moment, but then Harry wrapped his arms around her back, returning the gesture.

"Thank you Harry, for thinking of me as family," She whispered into his ear. "I won't ever forget that." She pulled him back. Harry saw that she had placed the book on the desk. She looked at it. "Professor Snape is going to, hopefully, be helping me in my training. But I have to decipher the book first." She gathered all her stuff and placed it in her bag.

"Snape?" Harry was stunned. "But, he hates us, why would he help you?"

"I don't need to know why, Harry. I just want him to be able to." She led the way out into the corridor.

Harry frowned. "What if he tries to hurt you or something?"

Alex laughed as they stepped onto the staircase. "I highly doubt that he would try something so bold right here in the castle. He's smarter than that."

"That's what I'm afraid of," Harry muttered as they reached the seventh floor corridor. They walked in silence the rest of the way to the Fat Lady's Portrait. Before Alex spoke the password, Harry wanted to get one last attempt in of what else she was hiding. He grabbed her arm and she turned to him.

"Is there something else that's bothering you Harry?" said Alex, in one of her most innocent voices. One that could have possibly been picked up from the Weasley twins, since it was the same voice they used when they were hiding something.

"Actually, yea." He tried to be as confident as possible. "I know that you're hiding something else. I want to know what it is." There it was, Alex avoided his gaze this time, looking down at her feet.

"It's nothing-"

"Don't." He spoke forcefully, enough so, that Alex actually brought her head up. He took a deep breath. "There are enough secrets flying around this school and between all of us," He knew that she would know he was talking about her and the detectives and Ron and Hermione. "So, even if you can't trust them with your secret, can't you trust me with it?" He let go of her arm and shrugged. "I'm sure I'll figure it out eventually, but we can have it in a controlled environment or-"

"Fine." She sighed. "But, you can't tell a soul. Promise?"

"By Merlin, I promise."

* * *

Wednesday morning, Alex made her way up to the Infirmary to have a chat with Draco. She was still extremely displeased with his performance during Care of Magical Creatures. It had even caused Lucius to file a report with the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures at the Ministry and now the whole ordeal was under investigation.

Alex entered the Hospital Wing and found Madam Pomfrey working with a young first year who had fallen off a broom while trying to ride one without permission. "Ah, Miss Denton, you aren't injured again are you? And so early in the year."

Alex flushed and rubbed both her arms. In her first year she had sliced open her left arm while helping deal with a troll and last year had managed to get a Basilisk fang pierced through her right arm. Alex shook her head at the nurse. "No Madam Pomfrey. Actually I'm here to see Mr. Malfoy, if you don't mind?"

"Not at all. He's perfectly fine, but seems reluctant to leave. I have indulged his whims, but he will be released tomorrow morning," She eyed Alex carefully while mending the young boys' broken arm. "Perhaps you're the reason he refuses to leave?"

Alex's cheeks grew even warmer. But not from embarrassment. "I don't think I am right now, but when I get through with him, I will be."

"Well don't make too much noise, or I will be forced to make you leave," Madam Pomfrey escorted the first year boy to the door with his newly repaired arm. Alex caught her muttering, "And with Mr. Malfoy if at all possible."

Alex moved towards the only bed that had the curtains drawn. No doubt Draco had heard her voice and shut them. She sighed and shook her head. _He should know better by now._ She flung back the curtains with fluid motion. Draco was sitting there, fear in his eyes, but a determined look on his face. "Here to yell at me about Monday?"

She shook her head. She was going to be in control of this conversation. "No not yell." His face relaxed a bit. "I'm here to scold you." His face now held the fear his eyes held. She took a deep breath, there was no going back now. "Draco what were you thinking? Buckbeak could have _actually_ killed you!" He flinched slightly but didn't back down. The look in his eye reminded her that of his father, and his bloodline.

"But he didn't-"

"One step more and-"

"What? So now Potter gets all the glory?" He hissed at her, his eyes blazing with anger and no fear. "Why does it seem that I'm doing everything wrong for you this year, yet Potter is getting every bit of your attention?" Alex actually shrank back at his words, then stood firm again. So he was jealous of Harry? She smiled, it was a bit cute.

"Draco," She murmured and sat in a chair near his bed. "Harry, is going through something that only I and Hiei can possibly help him with. But you," She sighed. He had to understand that there were others who needed her attention as well, and that things couldn't always be like their week at the Manor. "You're different. You shouldn't be as jealous as you are. Harry's like a brother to me. And there will always be things that I share with him, that I can't share with you." She grasped his hand and squeezed. "You've opened yourself to me in ways I will probably never understand, but I want to. I want to understand you Draco. But, I don't want you to change for me. Be yourself."

He looked at her hand and returned the gesture. "I am being myself. It's just that there's something about you that makes me want to change. To be a better person for your sake."

"And I thank you profusely for that Draco," She shook her head and pulled her hand away from his grip. "But that's not what I was here for." Now it almost seemed like a joke to scold him, after the confession he had just laid at her feet. "Is there any way you can get your father to withdraw the charges against Buckbeak and Hagrid? I don't want to see that poor creature executed."

Draco sighed. "I'll do what I can, but my father is always determined to make life for Dumbledore a living hell. If I had known what my actions were going to cause, I would have helped you deal with Maria and Millicent."

"I didn't need help with them," said Alex earnestly, she didn't want to tell Draco why they had been harassing her. "They were just trying to get information out of me about- certain things. Nothing serious."

"Well, I'll hex them the next time it happens." Alex patted Draco's head playfully.

"Sure you will Draco," She rose from her seat and made her way to the door. "I'll see you tomorrow. We have our first Defense Against the Dark Arts class. I'm sure you won't want to miss that."

"I won't."

"Good. Because I'll drag you there if I have to." And with that she departed the Infirmary and made her way to breakfast.


	3. News from Spirit World and DADA class

Alex sat at the Gryffindor table with the rest of her friends at breakfast Thursday morning. There was an excited buzz in the hall among many of the third years, who would be having their first Defense Against the Dark Arts class later that afternoon. Alex poked wearily at her eggs. She hadn't gone with Harry to his second training session with Hiei the night before, allowing Kurama to go along. She, instead, had worked more on the book Professor Snape had given her. She hadn't dared to try and make sense of the words that she translated, wanting to wait until she had finished. Alex was now almost halfway done, since the book wasn't overly large, but she would have to set it aside for a time being so that she could focus on Harry and her homework.

Draco had also come back from the Infirmary the night before it seemed, since he sat at the Slytherin table, basking in the attention of many of the second and third year girls that thought his wound was worse than it actually was. Alex growled as she took a sip of her pumpkin juice. She knew that he was purposely trying to make her jealous, since he kept giving her smug glances. Alex did her best to ignore him.

"Everything alright Alex?" Ron asked, he was scribbling out the last bit of his homework that was due for Potions, it being their first class of the day. He still seemed keen to the look on her face, which Alex knew wasn't a pleasant one.

"Yea, just a rough night, that's all." replied Alex, not wanting to draw unwanted attention to the boiling jealousy in the pit of her stomach.

Above them was a flurry of hooting as the morning mail owls descended into the Great Hall. Several official looking owls dropped letters in front of Hiei, Kurama, Yusuke, Kuwabara and herself. Genevievé also dropped a letter in front of Alex, but didn't stay to eat anything off her plate. Alex picked up the official looking letter. It bore the seal of Spirit World, but she had a feeling that it was not a letter from Koenma, who was always less formal with his letters even when they were formal. She ripped the top open and began reading:

_Princess Alexandria Lenora Denton,_

_It has come to our attention that you and four fellow demons, or persons in service to Spirit World, are currently attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in secret, hence our use of their means of communication. However, due to the current strain in relations between the Wizarding world and our own, we must ask that you discontinue your stay at said school. If word spread that demons were attending a wizarding school then there would be an uproar with parents and with the Ministries of the wizarding world that we do not wish to have come to pass.  
_

_You and your fellows are being asked to return to Spirit World immediately, no later than October 1st, until there is such a time when there is no conflict, and when it is deemed safe, you may possibly be able to return to Hogwarts. _

_Thank you for your cooperation and we look forward to seeing you soon._

_Head of Spirit World, Demon World and Wizardry Affairs and Relations,_

_Matilda Wolftide_

Alex's heart raced in her chest as she tried to keep calm. She looked up and saw the horrified looks in the other boys' faces. _This can't possibly be happening. _

"Alex, are you all right? You look pale," said Hermione. Alex shook her head and gave her best smile.

"Fine, I'm fine," She looked around, trying to clear her head and come up with a plan. "Uh, Harry, I don't think that there will be training with you tonight. We have some- things to take care of."

Harry nodded, but eyed her suspiciously. She knew that their relationship was strained as it was, and she was doing what she could to mend it, but for now, this one thing would have to be a secret. At least until they knew what the hell was happening. Alex folded the letter and stuck it into her bag. Then she picked up the second letter that Gen had brought to her. It was from Koenma. Hoping for some sort of explanation she ripped it open and read it carefully:

_Alex,_

_I hope this reaches you in time. If not then you already know._

_Father found out about about you and the others attending Hogwarts. I tried to hide it for as long as I could, but, well you've seen what happens. I wish there was more that I could do. But I'm not going to give up fighting for you to stay at the school, I know how much you love it there. I've demanded that we go to trail in Spirit World, and it's possible that we will. We can't deal with this through the Ministry of Magic since they don't know that you are a demon. And I'm quite certain that you want to keep it that way. _

_I will be meeting with Professor Dumbledore about this tonight, so if you wish to meet with us as well, I'll be there at 8 O'clock. _

_Alex, please don't worry about this as much as I know you are. Your mother, Lenora attended Hogwarts as well, and thus you have some magical heritage and should not be able to be ruled exclusively by Spirit World. I will do everything in my power to stop this._

_With love,_

_Koenma_

Alex smiled. Koenma was risking his job and life for her well being. It meant a lot to her. But she re-read the last lines of his letter. She hadn't known that her mother had attended Hogwarts. She would have to learn more about it.

A shadow fell across the table and a voice whispered in her ear, "Want to walk to class together?" She closed her eyes and widened her smile. She knew exactly who it was. She opened her eyes to see Harry avoiding her gaze, and the persons' behind her. _Thank you Harry. I know that this is difficult for you._

"Of course, Draco. I would love to." She replied and stood, gathering her things and departing the Great Hall with Draco.

* * *

"Harry, do you have any idea what's going on between those two?" Ron asked as he finished examining the last bit of his Potions homework. "One day they're at each others throats, then next they're friends again."

Harry shook his head a bit too vigorously and pretended to be interested in the sausage he was eating. It seemed so silly that Alex was hiding such a silly thing. Granted he didn't like Malfoy any better than most of the Gryffindors, but why should they care who she was dating? If she really did like Malfoy than that was good enough for him to do his best when it came to dealing with Malfoy. But of course, if he knew Ron at all, then Alex had a reason to fear the truth seeping into the mouths of the students. He had asked for the truth, and as the Muggles said, 'ask and ye shall recieve'. He almost wished he hadn't.

But there was something else that tugged at his mind now. What had made Alex blanch as she had when she read the letter? It was something that seemed to ring through the Detectives as well. There was something in that letter, and his curiosity and worry for Alex wouldn't let him give up until he found out what it was. He decided to take a chance with asking Kurama. He turned to the red head, who seemed to be re-reading the letter.

"Kurama?" The boy brought up his head, and Harry saw a fury that he had never seen in Kurama's eyes. His eyes almost looked- golden. "What's going on? What did Alex not want to tell us? I'm worried enough about her as it is. Ease my mind." He pleaded. It seemed to work. Kurama's eyes softened and he glanced at Yusuke, who just shrugged.

"Spirit World is revoking our allowance to stay here at Hogwarts," said Kurama as calm as ever, like this happened every day. "Not that we had permission to be here in the first place." He muttered.

"So you guys have to leave?" Ron asked as they stood to head down to the dungeons for Potions.

"Hopefully not. Alex seemed to relax after reading a second letter, whom, I guess was from Koenma. I'm sure if anything, we'll be making a trip to Spirit World soon enough." said Kurama. Harry saw him shudder slightly.

"Bad experiences in Spirit World, Kurama?" Hermione asked. Apparently she had seen him shudder as well.

"For both of us," A calm voice said from behind them. They turned and saw Hiei approaching them.

"Yes," Kurama agreed, but nothing else about the matter was said. They entered the Potions classroom and found Alex and Malfoy chatting animatedly about something. Other students were in the class, and looking at the two as if they had each grown second heads. Even Harry found it strange that Malfoy was actually interested in a Gryffindor of all Houses. Alex looked up, smiled and waved as if there was nothing wrong.

The group sat at a nearby table, but Harry couldn't hear what the two were talking about. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned his neck to see that it was Yusuke, there was a knowing smile on his face, Harry could almost infer that he knew about the two. "Don't worry about her so much Harry. She's a big girl and can handle herself quite well. If it falls through, we'll be there to catch her. There's nothing more that we can do." Harry pursed his lips in quiet defiance, but nodded. He knew that much was true.

Besides, he had his own problems to worry about. Such as the lingering presence he continued to feel at the back of his mind. Hiei had told him that it was possible that his mind was starting to finally awaken, and that Harry was becoming more aware of the livelyness of his mind. It was weird thinking of his mind as it's own entity, but Hiei had also said that those who were telepaths generally had to think like that, because it was mostly true. Things would manifest themselves into being; illusions. Kurama had said that it was possible that Harry could become a skilled illusionist with time and training. Though that was beyond Hiei's realm of help. Kuwabara said that he may have someone who could help Harry with that if he really wanted to pursue that path. But Harry was still unsure of what exactly he wanted. Everything was moving so quickly and he just wanted it all to slow down.

Before he could even begin to think anymore, Snape walked in and began class.

* * *

Alex entered the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom full of excitement. She was nearly quivering with it. She had talked with the twins who had had the class earlier that morning and said that Lupin was probably the best DADA teacher they had had in a long time.

"Better than Lockhart, that's for sure," George had said. She had to agree, but any teacher was immensely better than Lockhart.

The classroom looked no different than previous years save for the lack of desks. She looked around but there were none to be found. Obviously, they weren't going to be sitting down for this class. "So what, are we just standing here the entire class? That sounds-" Alex turned to glare at Draco who stopped talking at the look. She placed a gentle hand on his arm.

"Give Professor Lupin a chance, will you?" He fidgeted under her touch but said nothing.

The rest of the class was just as curious as she was as to what they were going to be doing for their first class. At the front of the room, Alex saw a rattling wardrobe. _What could possibly be in there?_ She made her way to the front of the room to get a better view; Draco was in tow. Harry, Ron, Hermione and the others joined her.

"I'm excited to see what Professor Lupin has in store," said Hermione, looking as excited as Alex felt. "Especially after his display of magic in getting rid of the dementor on the train."

Lupin appeared from his office at the top of the small steps behind the wardrobe. He was smiling wearily at them, as though he was tired. He stepped up next to the wardrobe which suddenly stopped rattling. "Can anyone tell me what a boggart is?"

Alex's smile faded just a bit. She had some recollection of reading about boggarts but couldn't remember what they were. Hermione seemed to know as she raised her hand enthusiastically.

"Yes Miss Granger?" Lupin called on her.

"Boggarts are shape shifters," Hermione recited, sounding almost exactly like a textbook passage. "They shift into what ever form they think will be most frightening to the person it is confronted with."

"Yes! Excellent Miss Granger, ten points to Gryffindor." said Lupin, looking a little more lively than a moment ago. "I have a boggart in here. I will have you all line up in just a moment, so as not to confuse the boggart too much," Lupin pulled out his wand. "The thing a boggart fears most is laughter. You need to force it to assume a shape you find most amusing.

"We will practice the charm to do just that, without wand first. Repeat after me, _riddikulus!_"

"_Riddikulus!_" The class chanted together.

"Good, very good," said Lupin. "Now, to demonstrate, Mr. Longbottom, would you come here please?"

The class turned to face the shy boy, who shrunk into himself as the class faced him. He slowly stepped forward and stood next to Professor Lupin. "Now Neville, tell me what do you fear most in the world?"

Neville muttered something but was inaudible.

"I'm sorry, I don't think we caught that."

"P-Professor Snape," Neville quivered with nervousness. Alex felt sorry for the boy.

"Professor Snape? Yes, the man frightens most," Lupin muttered jokingly. "Now Neville, you live with your grandmother, correct?"

"Yes, but I don't want the boggart to turn into her either." Neville looked slightly more frightened.

"No, no, it won't. But Neville I want you to picture her clothes in your mind. Don't say them to us, we'll see them soon enough," Lupin said when he saw that Neville was going to tell the class out loud. "Now I'm going to open the door, the boggart will assume the shape of Professor Snape and I want you to raise your wand, say '_Riddikulus_' and focus on your grandmother's clothes."

Neville nodded weakly, and held his wand aloft, possibly not wanting the boggart to assume Snape's shape for long. "The rest of you, please line up and ready yourselves, because after Neville each of you will present yourself before the boggart and perform the charm.

The others quickly lined up behind Neville. Alex found herself behind a few people; Ron, Kurama, Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei then herself. She wasn't ready. Mostly, she wasn't ready for others to see what her greatest fear was. "Ready Neville?" Professor Lupin's voice seemed to come from far away. Neville nodded and the door to the wardrobe flew open. Professor Snape in all his fearsome glory stepped out, gliding towards Neville, who shook like a little chihuahua.

"Remember, Neville, laughter!" came Professor Lupin's voice from behind the wardrobe.

Neville held his wand higher, gaining courage in himself and yelled, "_Riddikulus!_" His charm seemed to strong enough because Snape's usual black robe attire was replaced by an ugly lime green gown and his wand was replaced by a ridiculously large red hand bag and on his head appeared a large purple sun hat with a dead vulture.

Laughter rang out in the classroom and the boggart-Snape looked fairly frightened and confused. "Excellent! Mr. Weasley you're next!"

Ron stepped to the boggart nervously, as Neville moved to the back of the line, and the boggart, finding a new victim began shifting into the new fear. For Ron, Alex knew his greatest fear was spiders, and as such the boggart became just that, a giant fearsome looking spider. From her spot in line, Alex could hear the slight whimpering that came from Ron. He raised his wand shakily and just as the spider was about to snap it's pincers at him he shouted, "_Riddikulus!_" And the spider lost all of its legs and began rolling on the floor like an awkwardly shaped ball. Laughter rang out just as before. Beaming, Ron made his way to the back of the room with Neville.

Kurama was next, and Alex was curious to see what was going to be his greatest fear. The boggart composed itself and shifted. It was different with Kurama. His fear didn't manifest itself into an actual being but into a misty fog that seemed to fill the room. Alex squinted and managed to see a shape forming over by the staircase that led to Lupin's office. But before the shape to come into full view, Kurama flicked his wand and said in an oddly calm voice, _"Riddikulus._" and the mist and shadowy figure turned to a cloud over the class that produced snow. It didn't quite get laughter, but a few people giggled and that seemed to be enough.

Yusuke stepped bravely forward, possibly thinking that there was nothing he feared, and thus the boggart wouldn't actually change into anything. But he was dead wrong. The boggart shifted and became who Alex knew to be Keiko, Yusuke's girlfriend. He took a step back, clearly caught off guard. It was no wonder, Keiko was in a wedding dress and yelling at Yusuke about the silliest things like doing his homework and not picking on Kuwabara. Yusuke steadied himself, remembering that it wasn't real and raised his wand. Alex found that gesture in itself funny, considering he didn't seem like someone who would use a wand to defend himself. He cast the charm and Keiko's mouth turned into a giant zipper which magically closed. Although most of the other students didn't know who the girl was, the action was comical. Smirking, Yusuke stepped to the back of the room with the others.

Kazuma stepped up, looking uncertain. Alex thought that there could be several things he feared. But not because he was cowardly, mostly because he was a sensitive person. The boggart seemed genuinely confused and took a little longer to shift into Kazuma's fear. Before him stood his sister, Shizuru, who instantly began yelling at him to man up and demand things of other people and other things that Kazuma seemed to have trouble doing. But Kazuma seemed to have mentally prepared himself and raised his wand and cast the charm. His sister became a cute fuzzy little kitten. Kazuma squealed with delight and several girls sighed at how cute the thing was. Alex heard Draco give a little snort from behind her as Kazuma passed them on his way to the back of the room. Though the kitten didn't produce laughter, it certainly was the thing that gave Kazuma pure delight.

Hiei begrudgingly stepped forward. Alex felt Draco lean into her shoulder a little, and she hoped it was just to get a better look at what Hiei's fear was going to be. The kitten that sat before him, however, had not changed. Alex did her best to hide in shock but it came out as a muffled giggle. Draco buried his head into her shoulder, she felt him shaking with laughter. Hiei was afraid of cute little kittens? It seemed too silly to be true. But before anyone could really register what they were seeing, Hiei flicked his wand and the kitten became a rather large lion. Although it seemed to frighten others, it made Hiei smile, and for all they knew, that was the ultimate goal.

Then it dawned on Alex.

It was her turn. Her laughter ceased immediately and she felt her body shaking.

The weight of Draco's head lifted from her shoulder and she was gently nudged forward. She swallowed and stepped closer to the lion. Because there was less laughter, the boggart seemed to have more focus, which could not bode well for her. She felt the eyes of her fellow students very intent on her back. People were probably extremely curious to see what the Girl-Who-Lived was afraid of. The joke would be on them once the boggart stopped shifting. And after a couple tense moments it did.

Her boggart filled the room. Alex watched as it's golden scales rippled light off of them from the sunlight from the windows, it's large leathery wings were folded lazily on it's back because of the lack of room to stretch them. It's tail curled around it's taloned legs, spikes protruded from the tip like a mace. It's head was the most frightening for Alex. It's eyes were a pure black and seemed to pierce her soul. Spikes that matched the ones on it's tail stretched from it's forehead and cheeks. It's mouth was open like a never-ending chasm, exposing the possible hundreds of teeth that it certainly wasn't lacking.

* * *

_A dragon._

It was the only possibility that it could be, since Harry had never actually seen one except in books and this certainly fit the descriptions of the great beasts. But here he was looking at one almost directly in the face, since it almost filled the entire room. _So this is Alex's greatest fear? I'm not overly surprised. The beast is quite terrifying. _

The one thing that worried Harry about this situation, was that Alex was lifting her wand. She wasn't doing much of anything, except staring at the dragon and shaking. That was not good. It was a debilitating fear for her. She was frozen with fear, and she did the only other thing she could do; she ran. Alex flew right past him, and Harry swore he saw tears in her eyes.

Lupin took command of the situation and stepped in front of the dragon, which began turning into something like a crystal ball and the he said, "_Riddikulus!_" and it turned into a deflating balloon and flew straight into the wardrobe and Lupin magically locked it.

"Class is dismissed," said Lupin, sounding breathless.

Harry left quickly. He had seen Malfoy slip out of the room as soon as the boggart was back in the wardrobe. Harry knew that he would lead him to Alex. He had to make sure she was okay.

Outside the classroom, Harry spotted Malfoy disappearing around a corner to his left. Harry followed him all the way into the dungeons, hiding behind suits of armor and statues when Malfoy would turn around to see if he was being followed. Once in the dungeons, Malfoy seemed to gain a better stride in his step, rather than the nervous one he had when he was in the halls of the school. Harry was led to a deep corner of the dungeons, one he recognized as being near the Slytherin common room. In a shadowed corner of the corner was Alex. She was slumped against a stone wall her knees folded against her chest and her arms wrapped around her knees. Her hair was long and dark, showing that she was indeed upset. Harry felt his heart reach out to her, she looked so small, which didn't suit her at all. He had always seen her as a very proud demon who would, or could never cry, least, not for her own short comings.

Harry knew he was about to witness something that no person would ever see in public. Malfoy was about to become less Malfoyish.

"You know, you really shouldn't be spying on people who don't know you're spying on them."

* * *

Yusuke enjoyed the look on Harry's face when he whispered in the boy's ear. It was a look of fear at first, then became surprise when he saw who it was.

"Yusuke, what are you doing here?" Harry hissed in reply.

"Probably for the same reasons you're here," said Yusuke keeping his voice light and cheerful. "Unless you just like walking around in spy mode and wandering the dungeons after class?" Harry frowned at him.

"I'm making sure she's okay," said Harry, returning his attention to the scene that was about to unfold in front of them.

Yusuke actually wasn't in the dungeons to check on Alex, he had followed them down here to see if what Kurama had told him was true. He would never let Alex live this down, not in a million years, even after she had left Malfoy for someone else. Which he was almost sure would happen. They were such opposites that they could never ever work as a course people said that about him and Keiko, but they weren't dating, so they were different.

Yusuke watched all of Malfoy's movements carefully. He wasn't sure what he would try while Alex's defenses were at their lowest, and he had to persuade Hiei to be the one and come and watch over her, so if anything happened to her- well, he didn't like to think about the pain Hiei would inflict on him.

Malfoy bent down and whispered something in her ear, and this was where Yusuke loved being part demon. He could hear all that was being said.

"Alex," Malfoy murmured. "Talk to me, what the hell happened back there?" There was a note of a sneer in his words. Typical Slytherin and typical Malfoy. Alex didn't even bring her head up when she spoke.

"Just go away Draco," came the muffled reply. "If you're going to be a prat about it."

Malfoy sank down onto his knees, grimacing at the muck on the floor. "Sorry, it's just- well, you ran out of there so quickly, I don't think anyone understands what happened in there. So if you want to wallow here then be my guest, but I'm here if you want to talk." He moved with grace that Yusuke hadn't thought a thirteen year old boy could move with, so that Malfoy was sitting next to Alex with the same position as her. His cheek rested on his knees so that he could look at Alex.

There was silence for a long while, with the occasional break of a hiccuped sob from Alex. Then after a few more minutes Alex spoke. Her voice was so weak and quite, Yusuke had to lean forward over Harry's shoulder to hear her better. She brought her head up to mimic Malfoy's, and Yusuke pulled Harry behind the pillar that they were hiding behind, just in case she could see them.

"As you can tell, my greatest fear is that of dragons," said Alex. "But, I've never been truly sure as to why I'm afraid of the beasts. Koenma tells me that when I was younger, not long after I was brought back to demon world, during the time that dragons roamed our lands wildly, I was attacked by a rogue dragon that had turned on its own kind and on us. I was too young to remember, but apparently the trauma of it lingers on." Her voice had cracked several times during her tale. There was a shuffle of movement and Yusuke peeked around the pillar.

Draco was kissing Alex.

Yusuke felt his eyebrows raise and his eyes widen. Harry had also chanced a glance around the pillar and Yusuke saw his eyes widen in mild shock.

_I don't care what the situation is, I am so using this as blackmail against her!_ Yusuke thought as a smile formed on his lips. From the way the kiss was going, it wasn't the first time they had shared one, and in a, brotherly, way that unsettled him greatly. Then, it suddenly dawned on him who Alex was spending her disappearances during the summer with. The kiss seemed light, like drifting snow, but it looked to make all the difference in the world to Alex. Yusuke knew he was seeing a side of Malfoy and even possibly Alex, that he would never see beyond this moment or place in the public eye.

Malfoy pulled back from the kiss. "I hope that helps."

There was a funny little smile on Alex's face. "Yes, thank you." Her had returned to the fairly normal honey brown that she favored so much. The whole lovey-dovey sensitive crap made Yusuke want to retch. Alex fell into Malfoy's waiting arms and they were probably going to stay like that for some time. Until Alex felt that she could return to and face the curious eyes and ears of the waiting student body, who, would no doubt have heard of the incident in class.

Yusuke tugged on Harry's robe sleeve, indicating that they should leave. Harry looked hesitant. _He relies on her way too much. That is going to have to stop, since she won't always be there to help him when he wants it or even needs it. I think there may be a way to fix that too. _He thought as he tugged harder and finally got Harry to move with him up to the main floor of the castle.

"Yusuke, you can't tell anyone what you saw down there," said Harry. Yusuke looked at him as if that was the stupidest statement ever made.

"Of course not," replied Yusuke, sighing as he said so. "Do you know what that kind of relationship will do to the school? Slytherins will attack Gryffindors, thinking that it's all a scam. Gryffindors will retaliate in the worst way possible, considering that we have the Weasley twins on our side," Yusuke grinned at the thought of Malfoy doused in the purple goo that smelled like moldy cheese that the twins had recently created. Then shook his head. "And then, when it gets to be too much, Alex will go ballistic and cause more mayhem than Malfoy or the twins could cause with their little finger," he held up his pinkie just to demonstrate. Harry shuddered at the the thought of what she could do. Granted, she had learned most of her tricks and schemes from the twins themselves, so they would be the ones to blame when karma bit them in the ass.

"So, we leave it be, and pretend that what we saw never happened?" Harry suggested, adjusting his bag on his shoulder. Yusuke nodded. Harry nodded in return and made his way into the Great Hall for dinner. Yusuke followed casually, his hands in his pockets. _At least, not until I can find a way that it will play in my favor in the end._ And he fell in step with Harry who had slowed down to walk with him and chat about Divination and Potions as if nothing really had never happened. He was good.

* * *

Alex peeked around the common room. She had skipped dinner, unable to face the hundreds of eyes that would have followed her every flinching movement. She knew that the school would, no doubt, by now know of the horrifying experience she had had with the boggart. Though her stomach growled, Alex figured she could sneak down to the kitchens later and get something from the house elves that worked down there. Luckily there was no one in there at the moment, or so she thought. Alex stepped further into the common room and was confronted almost immediately by Yusuke who had apparently been hiding behind the notice board. She sighed. There was a giant grin on his face that told her he knew something that he shouldn't.

"What do you want Yusuke?" Alex set her bag next to her usual lounge chair by the fire and sat in the chair herself. She felt more exhausted than she should have felt. But the day had been draining on her. Yusuke stayed silent, but the grin stayed plastered on his face. It made her more uncomfortable and she shifted in uneasily in the chair. "Seriously Urameshi, what is your deal? Shouldn't you be at dinner or something?" Then she caught a flicker of movement by the boy's dormitory, Harry stood there, shifting his weight from foot to foot, looking as uneasy about Yusuke's grin as she felt. Her eyes narrowed, suspicion crept into her body. "What is it, Urameshi?" Her voice was low and dangerous.

"I know something about you that you've been trying to hide," said the boy in as close to a sing-song voice as he could get.

"Almost the whole school knows about my fear of dragons at this point," replied Alex bluntly. "But that's not what you're talking about is it?"

Alex could have sworn that his smile got bigger. Harry stood closer now, and he seemed almost afraid of Yusuke at the moment. "I'm sorry Alex, I didn't think that- it's just that it was so-"

"You and Draco!" Yusuke burst. "It seemed too ridiculous, but the more I think about it and what I _saw_!" he sounded like a kid in a candy store who was just told that he could have the whole store. Oh, it's just too good to be true!"

Alex felt the blood drain from her face. Her eyes looked from Yusuke's giant grin to Harry's growing frown. Yusuke knew, and they both had seen them in the dungeons. She hadn't sensed them there. Yusuke had one of the biggest mouths in school. If he told someone, even as blackmail or revenge- it frightened her tho think of what people would say. Not that she hadn't told Draco more than once that summer that they wouldn't be able to hide it for very long, but if they didn't get the chance to tell people themselves, it would not bode well in what ramifications they would receive from the student body. But that isn't what held her head on straight. It was pure anger. At Harry for following her, and at Yusuke for being a stupid git.

"You- you followed me?" She had tried not to splutter, but it couldn't be helped. But there was anger in her voice, which made Yusuke's smile die just a little bit. "When I run away from things, it tends to mean, 'don't follow, I want to be left alone.' But I can't get even five minutes to myself can I?"

"But, Malfoy-" Yusuke made a weak attempt at an argument, but it died in his throat. She saw the look in his eyes. He knew that being _alone_ meant that there was only one person that could comfort her, and in that time of need, it had been Draco she wanted. Not them. She had seen it many times with him, when he was upset, there were days that only Keiko could talk to him and bring him back from his brooding states, he should have been the one to understand better than anyone about how she was feeling right now. "I see how it is, Alex." If it wasn't for the deep-seeded anger or fear that held her heart right now, she would have said that she felt a slight glee in hearing those words. "But that doesn't stop _us_ from wanting to make sure you were all right." Her heart sank closer to her stomach. "Of course-" He went on, "- once we saw that Malfoy was taking care of you, we should have left, and that was a mistake that we can't take back." The words rang strange in her head, it was strange to hear Yusuke speak with such clarity and sincerity, it was not a tone that she was used to in his voice. She felt guilt creep into the pit of her stomach. They were worried, and although she hadn't asked to be followed, part of her appreciated the concern, and part of her was still furious at them.

Alex relaxed her face. "I'm sorry I snapped," she replied. "There's a lot more on my mind than dragons." She looked at the watch on her wrist, it was 7:30, she would have to hurry to Dumbledore's office. "I wish we could finish this, but I have somewhere to be. We'll talk later!" She rushed out of the room before either of them could say anything more.

Alex skipped down the stairs to the fifth floor where the gargoyle leading to the headmaster's office sat. She spoke the password that Koenma had given her in his letter and stood on the moving staircase. At the top of the stairs was the door to the headmaster's office; it was open a crack, but Alex knocked anyway. "Enter," came the calm voice of Professor Dumbledore. She stepped inside and found that Koenma was already there, and even Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape was there as well. "Ah, Alexandria, I'm glad you have arrived, we were just discussing you." said Dumbledore, his face grave but his eyes were shining brightly behind his half moon spectacles.

Alex guarded herself, as she did every time she was told that people were talking about her. "Oh, and may I ask what about me was being discussed?"

"Most certainly," replied Dumbledore earnestly. "We were speaking of the letter that you and your friends received earlier this morning," Alex's eyes traveled to the floor. It wasn't fair that Spirit World was trying to rule her life. She was a princess for Merlin's sake, as well as a witch. "Lord Koenma here has obtained the right to trial for you and that you will be able to defend your rights as princess of Demon World and a witch of the Wizarding world." Alex let her eyes travel to where Koenma was standing near Fawkes perch.

"It's true," said Koenma, reading her expression. "You and the boys are part of two worlds, not just one. But, you may have to make a decision of what world you would want to reside in permanently-"

"Here of course!" Koenma and the others looked quite shocked at her outburst. Alex felt the blood rise to her cheeks. "I spent most of my life not knowing who I was, and always wishing that I had demon powers. Then, I got my letter to Hogwarts and I finally felt that I had a place to belong and a path to walk. I would never want to give that up-" She hesitated, but the next words she was going to say would ring true. "-even if it meant giving up my demon powers."

There was silent for a few moments. "That is extremely noble of you, Miss Denton," said McGonagall, who looked quite proud of the Gryffindor standing in front of her. "I see so much of your mother in you."

Tears welled in Alex's eyes, but she didn't let them fall. She glanced at Professor Snape, who had stayed silent most of the meeting. He shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. "Your mother was extremely proud of her demon heritage," Snape finally said. "and of the fact that she would one day become queen of her great race. We see those things in you, despite the fact that you hide your heritage from your fellow classmates. Do not give up your life so easily, just to please those who might find other means of pulling you out of the school and the world you love so much." Pride swelled in Alex's chest. To hear those words flow from Snape's mouth so easily and that he didn't speak ill of her or her mother made her respect the man more than ever.

She bowed her head. "Thank you," Then she looked up again. "When is the trial possibly going to be?"

"At the end of the month," Koenma replied. "You and the boys will have to come to Spirit World for a short duration of time. Hopefully no more than a few days to a week."

"You will be excused from classes and the professors will pull together a list of assignments that you will complete while gone, so that you don't miss much in the way of curriculum." Dumbledore said, smiling at her.

She nodded, then after a few moments, she thought of something. "Sir, I would like to ask to bring a few students along with me. They may be able to help pull together a side that can't speak for itself. People who have no investment in Demon or Spirit World."

Dumbledore and the others looked at her curiously. "Who did you have in mind Miss Denton?" McGonagall asked.

"Harry, Ron, Hermione," then she hesitated, but the last would be needed as well. "and Draco." She watched Snape's eyes narrow at her, and McGonagall looked genuinely shocked.

"I only ask, but I would greatly appreciate their testimony. They have more invested in the wizarding world than in the world of demons. And I know for a fact that those in Spirit World are extremely one side guided. They don't see it from the point of view of those who the boys and myself interact with on a daily basis. If I'm going to be able to return to this world, then I need their help."

McGonagall and Snape bowed their heads closer to Dumbledore's, and Alex knew that they were discussing the ramifications of her request. Alex's heart pounded in her chest as she waited with bated breath. They lifted their heads and Dumbledore spoke, "You're request has been granted-" Alex very nearly jumped with glee. "-Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Potter, Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley will be allowed to travel with you and the others to Spirit World," he looked at her over his spectacles. "I highly suggest that you explain to them what is going on and what will need to happen on their part. Including how they should behave while there. You and I will talk again before you leave. Good evening Alexandria."

Alex left, feeling as though she was flying on a giant fluffy cloud.

She was going home, and she was able to bring her friends with her.


	4. Slytherin's Charm and Cunning

It's a Slytherin PoV this chapter. I'm trying to branch out. Think of this as a little Interlude or something. It's a little shorter than normal. Please enjoy!

The next chapter will start the trip to Spirit World/Demon World.

* * *

Draco stared at Alex with, what he could only describe as, deep adoration. She sat in thought across from him in the library. On the table in front of her sat a book on laws and regulations for demons and wizards alike. Dumbledore had given her permission to explore the books in the Restricted section to help her and her friends for their trial that was only two weeks away. But it wasn't the way her brow furrowed and knitted together in thought, or even the way her delicate fingers played with the loose strands of hair that made him look at her that way. No it was the fierce dedication to the cause that made him stare. And the fact that she had requested his presence at the trial. He had been thoroughly surprised when she had come to the Slytherin common room and kissed him right there, she was just happy to have him come with her. To his extreme satisfaction, no one else had been in the room that evening. She told him everything. How this place called Spirit World was revoking her allowance to stay in the wizarding world and that there was going to be a trial in order to allow her to stay.

After another kiss, she had explained about how her mother had ruled over Demon World and that she was a princess.

Perhaps that was another reason he was staring at her the way he was now.

Maybe.

"Draco, if you're going to be here with me," he heard Alex speak, even though she didn't look up from the book she was currently reading. "Then please do something other than stare at me."

He felt his cheeks grow warm. "What else am I suppose to do?" He said more smugly than he intended. "You keep ignoring me to read those stupid books." Yes, he sounded like a child, but Alex _had_ promised to spend time with him today. She had spent most of her days with the Weasel twins or with the Detectives. "You promised." He reminded her. She gave an exasperated sigh, closed the book and looked at him. It was then that he noticed how tired she really looked. She had dark circles under her eyes that she had been hiding from public eyes and the usual vibrant teal was now dull.

"What do you want to do Draco?" She even sounded tired.

"Have you been sleeping all right?"

She smiled wearily at him. "Just fine Draco. I've been busy if you haven't noticed. I am being brought to trial, remember?" She shook her head. "But this isn't about me today. You're right, I did promise to spend time with you today, and I've been neglecting you all week, and I apologize for that," She leaned across the table and brushed his lips with a light kiss. He almost swooned as he felt the light tingle on his lips that her kisses gave him. Almost. He was a Malfoy and a little more dignified than that. "So, what do you want to do today Draco?"

"Well," he actually hadn't thought about it. Just being with Alex made him happy. "I- don't know." He replied slowly. He didn't want to sound like an idiot, but he most certainly felt like it. He was sure that Alex would have thought that he had the entire day planned out, but he didn't. It would have been nice if they were allowed to go to Hogsmeade, but those trips didn't start until October. His thoughts drifted to the possibility of not sharing those times with Alex, if she wasn't allowed back at the school. He shook his head to rid himself of such thoughts.

"I'm surprised Draco," she murmured, settling back into her chair.

"Well, what do you have in mind?" He watched as her eyes and hand flickered to the book she had been reading. He reached out and grabbed her hand. "Besides that."

She sighed in defeat and looked at him. "How about a walk around the lake?" she suggested, and glanced out the window. The weather was still nice for the middle of September, the sun was out but it was rather chilly out. Draco nodded. It would mean that he would get her to himself for a few hours at least.

Alex led the way out of the library, and Draco noticed that she had brought the she had been reading with her. He snatched it from her, receiving a cry of complaint. "_Draco!_" She whined, turning to face him, hand held out.

"Don't do that," he replied calmly, though he knew a smile was plastered on his face. He put the book in his bag. "I hang onto this for the day. You can have it back after dinner." She frown, which only made Draco smile even further. _She's pretty when she's angry._ He thought to himself. He linked his arm with hers and guided her down to the Entrance Hall. She sulked the entire way there, but once they reached the hall, which was eerily void of students, she gained a skip in her step and guided him away from the Hall doors that led outside. "Where're we going?" He asked.

"To the kitchens. Fred, George and Lee Jordan showed me where they were and how to get in last year," she replied. "I thought we could grab some lunch to have while out by the lake." She guided him to a hallway under the main stairs. At the end of the hallway was a painting of a bowl of fruit. She reached out with her index finger and tickled a pear that sat in the bowl. It giggled, and the painting slid into the wall. He would have to remember that little trick.

They entered the room beyond, and it was quite a large room filled with pots, and prepping tables and wooden cabinets and other various kitchen supplies. _I think this is possibly the largest room in all of Hogwarts._ Draco thought to himself as Alex weaved in between a row of boiling pots, all of which were manned by house elves. _And quite possibly the largest population of house elves in all of Britain._ He followed Alex and noticed that some of the elves left their stations and also followed her. They reached the end of the row and Alex stopped in front of a row of wooden cabinets.

"Hello Lady Alexandria," an elf squeaked from her left side. "What can we get for you today?"

Alex looked down at the five elves that were gathered around her. "I was hoping to get a basket of sandwiches and fruit pulled together. Do you mind?"

"Of course not Lady Alexandria!" Draco assumed it was the same elf. They all sounded alike to him. "We will fetch it immediately. Anything else?" Alex glanced up at Draco, smiled a smile that made him shudder a little. It was one not unlike one that the Weasley twins would have made when they came up with something truly devious. She bent down and whispered in the elf's large ear.

"Yes, of course!" He squeaked in reply and ran off to do whatever she had asked of him.

"Where's Dobby?" She asked the others who had stayed near her. Draco started. He had nearly forgotten that Dobby was no longer in the service of his own family, having been freed unknowingly by his father, Lucius, and tricked by Potter.

"Here Lady Alex," came a voice from behind one of the prepping tables. "It is so good to see you again!" He squeaked as he appeared from behind the table. He so many clothes that Draco was surprised he hadn't noticed the elf when they had walked in. Alex smiled and patted the elf on his bald head. His large green eyes stared up at her in admiration.

"What are you doing here Dobby?" Draco couldn't hold his silence any longer. The elf's large eyes swiveled to him, but they didn't look frightened as he had hoped or assumed would have happened, as he looked at his former master.

"Former young Master Malfoy," said Dobby, not even sounding frightened. "What are you doing here?"

"He's with me Dobby," said Alex, moving to stand next to him. Warmth radiated off her and Draco was sent into a world of comfort he hadn't felt a moment ago. Shock and surprise left him. "Dobby was given the opportunity to work here at Hogwarts after your father freed him." She explained.

"He didn't really free Dobby," defended Draco. "It was Potter who tricked my father."

Alex snorted and Draco cast her a glare. Alex waved her hand as though the look didn't bother her. "It's in the past," she replied as the other elf brought a basket full of food. He handed it to her. "Thank you."

The elf bowed. "It's always a pleasure to see you Lady Alexandria!" Then he left to attend to his other duties.

"We'll see you later Dobby," said Alex as she turned back to the portrait door. "Take care." Draco followed her out.

Once in the Entrance Hall he grabbed the basket from her and she grumbled a protest. "Draco, what's gotten into you today?"

"It's not proper for a lady to carry heavy things, especially if there is a man able to do it for them," he explained. The pureblood status training he had received as a child kicked in. It was just the proper thing to do.

Alex snorted again but said nothing. She was probably finding all this amusing, as she found most things he did. It was just the propriety of it all that had been reinforced into his thinking, being of high blood status in the wizarding world. _And she should have this thinking too, _Draco thought as he opened the front doors for her and followed Alex onto the school grounds. _If she had been raised in a proper environment._

"Well, excuse me for not wanting to behave silly in a Muggle setting," said Alex as she fell into step with him. "Blood status means nothing to them. Though money tends to." He had forgotten that she could read minds that weren't guarded.

"I meant nothing ill by the thought," he said quickly. He really didn't want to offend her, especially since there was still most of the day for just the two of them, and she could have disappeared long ago.

She shrugged. "Whatever," she looked out onto the lake, looking for a spot for them to sit. "Prat," she muttered. Draco gave a low growl. But couldn't think of anything to say back. He knew that she was teasing him, and he was going to let it slide this time. "How about we sit over there?" She pointed out to the edge of the lake, and Draco looked and saw that she was pointing at a large oak tree that still had a few green leaves on it.

"Looks fine to me." He knew that the subject was closed. They walked in silence to the oak and sat on the cool grass. Draco looked out over at the lake and saw the giant squid that lived there poke its head out of the water. "So," he started when the silence had bugged him too much. "Tell me more about this Spirit World we're going to."

She began earnestly, also seeming to enjoy the break of silence.

* * *

Maria sat in the Slytherin common room with Millicent and Blaise. And by the looks on their faces, they were as bored as she was. "What are we going to do today?" She asked, hoping that one of them had an idea. But they both shrugged. She huffed. "Well, so much for that." Maria glanced around the room. It was mid afternoon, though the time could only be told by a clock, that a seventh year had produced, on one of the desks. "Where's Malfoy? Or even Hiei? I haven't seen either one all day." She knew that Crabbe and Goyle were serving detention with Professor Sprout for flicking screeching seeds at Hufflepuff first years.

Blaise was the one who replied. "Malfoy went to go study with Denton and no one ever sees Hiei."

"Malfoy's with Denton?" An idea popped into the girl's head. "Let's go crash the party." She made to move from the lounge chair she had been sitting in, but Millicent grabbed her arm. Maira turned to her and saw the look in her eyes. It was not a pleasant one, it actually creeped her out a bit.

"That would be extremely unwise," said Millicent, she was always one of propriety. Maria had to look away, so she stared at a spot directly past her right ear, making it look like she was still staring at the raven haired girl. "There's something about Denton that gets to me. As much as I like the girl, I don't think that its wise to contend with her."

Maria heard a scoff from behind her. She swung around, pulling her arm out of Millicent's grip when she did. Pansy stood by the stairs to the girls dormitory, her arms were folded, and she looked unhappy. _I think she's jealous of the attention Malfoy gives Denton and vise-versa. I didn't realize that she wanted Malfoy that much._

"I think your plan is brilliant, Maira," said Pansy, coming to stand closer to the group. "I'll even come with you. Blaise, care to join us?" Maira heard a shuffle from behind her and the ebony stood next to her.

"Sure," he shrugged. "I've got nothing else better to do."

"Excellent," said Pansy. Maria saw how swiftly it had gone from being her plan to Pansy's. At least she wouldn't get blamed much for it if they were caught. "Millie? Are you coming?" Millicent's nose wrinkled at the nickname, but she shook her head.

"I want no part of the repercussions if they see you," she pulled her Charms book to her lap and opened it.

Maria shrugged and led the way out of the common room. The three of them made their way through the dungeons corridors, all keeping silent. Blaise took the lead from Maria when they reached the stairs to the Entrance Hall.

"Shh," he held up a hand, and the shush was unnecessary, since they hadn't said a word. But she and Pansy stayed quiet. There were two distinct voices coming from the hall. They peeked around a corner and saw Malfoy and Denton arguing about some silly basket that he had taken away from her. Maria was surprised at Malfoy, she had never heard him argue about something so mundane as that. The two stepped outside, and they followed their friends outside. Maria and Pansy took shelter behind a set of small bushes and Blaise hid behind a tree near the door.

The walk down to the lake was held in silence, which made it difficult to follow Malfoy and Denton, but if they knew they were being followed, they gave no indication as to such. Finally they stopped at an old oak tree by the northern edge of the lake. As a conversation between them picked up again- Denton was speaking about something rather enthusiastically- it dawned on Maria what was going on. And it seemed to dawn on Pansy- by the rage growing on her face- and Blaise- who was trying very hard not to burst out laughing.

Malfoy and Denton were on a date.

It was a picnic basket that was in between the two of them and, from her spot behind a pine tree several feet away, she could see Malfoy's hand brush Denton's every so often. It was the gentle gestures that Malfoy would never allow himself to make in the public eye. He had changed, Maria could see that. But for better or worse, she wasn't sure of.

Maria wanted to step closer to hear what Denton was talking about. But she heard a hiss from Pansy next to her and she turned to see Hiei standing behind a mortified looking Blaise.

"Hello Moorland," said the the boy, his voice was filled with a malice that had no necessity of being there. "Care to explain why you're sneaking around behind you're friends' backs?"

* * *

Hiei truly enjoyed tormenting others that he didn't care for. Hell he even enjoyed tormenting those he did care for. It was his form of fun, as Alex had described it on multiple occasions. The looks on Zabini's, Moorland's and Parkinson's faces were really priceless at this point. He actually didn't really care why they were following Alex and Malfoy, he disliked the fact that Alex was involved in their cruel games that would more than likely end in blackmail.

He had ways of dealing with that.

Unfortunately, Alex wouldn't allow him to use those methods, so Hiei would have to switch his game plan around, making it work for him and Alex.

Moorland made no move to answer his question. Instead, she did the only thing that seemed like a good idea to her. She ran. And Parkinson and Zabini weren't far behind her. Hiei smirked as they disappeared around the Entrance Hall door he had left open. _Let the games begin._ He thought and looked over to where Malfoy and Alex sat. She had a calm expression on her face as she listened to Malfoy talk about his Quidditch practices. She glanced over the boy's shoulder and smiled at him. Hiei knew she could see him, and her smile could have been directed at Malfoy, but he knew better than to assume that. He didn't smile back but disappeared back into the castle.

Since Alex had promised to spend the day with Malfoy, and she had asked him not to loom over them while she did, he had to find something else to preoccupy his time.

But what did one like him do with free time? He had always had an objective of some kind. Now a days it was to protect and watch Alex, but he didn't want to infringe on her wishes, and so he had to come up with something. He stood, closing his eyes, leaning against one of the stone railings on the stairs, and thought.

After quite a long stretch of time, two identical voices filled the hall, almost hurting his ears.

"Well, would you look at this George," said the first voice. "Here's Hiei standing here all by his lonesome-"

"Never seen him on his own before, have we Fred?" said the second voice, at this point, Hiei didn't even have to open his eyes to know who was speaking at him. "Alex _must_ be nearby if he's here." Hiei thought he heard something of longing in the second voice as he said that, but he choose to ignore it. Right now he had to find a way to get rid of them, and send them in a different direction than outside. Alex and Malfoy would more than likely come back inside at anytime, and together, in a way that they weren't ready for others to know about quite yet.

"Are you listening, Hiei?" said the first voice again. The one known as Fred. Hiei could tell them apart by the sound of their voices. The inflection with which each one spoke.

"Yes," replied Hiei, a growl in his throat. "Unfortunately so."

"Aw, don't be so disappointed," said the second voice. That one was George. An arm flew around his shoulders and Hiei was forced to open his eyes. He was surrounded by the two red heads. "Have you seen Yusuke? We were looking for him to test out a new invention of ours-"

"-He's really so gullible," finished Fred. It was an annoying habit of theirs; finishing each others thoughts and sentences. "You think he would learn by now, not to trust us so willingly."

"But we couldn't have ask for a better test subject," said George. Neither of them noticed that Hiei really didn't want to be in their company. But he couldn't pull himself away from George's grip on his shoulders. Hiei actually found himself wishing for the fox's presence right now. Even the idiot would be a welcome savior right now. "He's just so _willing_."

"Will you two just shut up and go away?" Hiei practically yelled it. He had reached the pinnacle of his patience.

There was shocked silence from the identical boys. George released his arm from Hiei's shoulder.

"Hey, is everything all right out here?" They all looked up at the top of the staircase. Harry stood there with Ron at his right shoulder. Hiei noticed that they were rarely ever apart. Ron was Harry's protector, just as he was Alex's.

"I think Hiei hates us even more than little kittens." Fred feigned the voice of hurt. Hiei almost winced at the jab. It had not been his plan to face the boggart, but he had managed to fool the creature, not giving it enough time to find what he was truly afraid of.

"Just leave him alone you two," Ron was the one who spoke. He knew how to handle his brothers better than Hiei did. "Yusuke's on the fifth floor with Kurama."

The twins looked at each other, grins formed on their faces. "Excellent." And with that they trotted up the stairs to find their victim.

"Sorry 'bout them, mate," said Ron. He even looked apologetic. It was an expression Hiei wasn't used to it coming from other people.

Hiei scoffed. It felt like the proper response. "Whatever," he said and made to leave Harry and Ron. With Urameshi preoccupied, Kurama would be alone, and Hiei could at least have someone whose company he could tolerate.

"Wait," Harry said quickly. Hiei stopped. Hiei had been training him carefully at Alex's request to hone the activity of his mind. Granted, Hiei had reasons to do so as well. The bespectacled boy was a menace to the minds and memories of others. But he did have talent when he was able to control his telepathy. His own mind was organized in a way Hiei had never seen before like rows of well tended crops. But he had a tendency to be irrational in his thinking. Hiei, with the fox's help, would teach him to think rationally about his actions. Harry would be a talented telepath and even possibly a creative illusionist, with the creativity that was harbored deep in the crevices of his mind.

"Yes?" Hiei realized he had hesitated long enough for both boys to give him quizzical looks.

"Is- is Alex with Malfoy?" That was another problem. His apparent obsession with Alex. It would have to cease. And a visit to Demon World might help that.

Hiei smiled inwardly and replied, "Yes, she is. And I would ask that you don't go looking for her, or I will make your lives extremely unpleasant." He felt it wise to include Ron in that threat. No need for loopholes that they were so talented in finding. Both swallowed audibly and nodded. Then they made their way upstairs, most likely to find the Granger girl and, hopefully, work on homework, and not think of Alex.

* * *

Millicent was laughing so hard she fell off her chair. She knew it was undignified, but who could blame her? The looks on Blaise, Maria, and Pansy's faces when they returned from their spy mission was too hilarious.

Apparently, Hiei had spooked them when they had found Malfoy and Denton.

"Yes, but that's not the worst of our trip," said Maria, a hard look in her eyes, when Millicent had stopped laughing long enough to have her voice be heard.

"Oh," breathed Millicent. She pulled herself back up to her chair. "What was the worst part?"

"Malfoy and Denton are," Pansy swallowed, as if the words burned her throat. Millicent had noticed that she did not looked pleased about anything at the moment. "_dating._" She hissed that last word so quietly that Millicent had to stop breathing for a few moments to catch it. Then the realization hit her, but with less force than expected.

"So?" she replied with a shrug. "Doesn't really surprise me, since they grew close last year. I think it was only a matter of time." But her mind was racing. It was useful information. And a perfect opportunity for blackmail if used at the right time. She was sure that Denton was keeping it well hidden from her friends in Gryffindor. It was a good chance that there would be a bigger rift set between Slytherin and Gryffindor if either House found out, there would be an uproar of great proportions. "Let's keep a lid on this for now. We all play dumb to this. We have to wait for the prime opportunity to use this."

The others could see the gears in her head working and they all nodded. They knew that when Malfoy was else where, she was in charge.

Yes, this was going to be excellent when it all unfurled.


	5. Demon World and Mended Friendships

Okay, so I have realized an idiotic mistake I made in some of the previous chapters. I have been calling Alex 'Denton' when her last name is suppose to be Rowen. I apologize if this confused anyone. It's from another story I'm writing where the main character is named Alexandria Denton, thus why I've been using it. I promise to use her proper name in all future chapters, Alex Rowen.

* * *

Alex didn't want to move from her bed. It was warm underneath the down comforter she had so well wrapped herself in. But she knew that the comfort couldn't last forever. And it wouldn't. She lay there listening to the soft breathing sounds coming from her fellow female Gryffindors in the room. Hermione muttered something in her sleep from the bed to her left. Alex smiled. Today would possibly be the last day she ever spent at Hogwarts. Today was the day she and the others would be leaving for Spirit World; and to their fate. Alex didn't want to think of the negatives of what could happen. She truly hoped that they would all return to Hogwarts and everything could go back to the way it had been. She shivered and curled deeper into her bed. Alex knew that she would have to stand strong in front of the Spiritueux Court. It was was a silly name, she knew, but it had been started by a Demon who had traveled to France and had fallen in love with a French human. It was in memory of their love- the love that should be practiced by all Demons and Spirits- not that that had held true.

After several more agonizing and silent brooding minutes, Alex untangled herself from her bedding and made for the loo. None of the other students knew that a group of them was leaving. She wasn't even sure how their absence was being explained. Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall had assured them that all would be taken care of.

After dressing in dark green robes with a silver trim and lining- colors that represented her status as a witch in the Demon World- she woke Hermione. She grumbled a bit, and Alex didn't blame her. The sun had barely risen, but they would have to leave before the rest of the student body woke up. Once she was sure that Hermione wouldn't fall back asleep, she made her way down to the common room. Her trunk would be dealt with in the way that it was when they left Hogwarts at the end of each year.

In the common room there were two similar figures sitting on the couch, both heads tilted backwards and soft snores coming from the open mouths. Upon closer inspection, Alex saw that it was the Weasley twins. She shook her head and smiled. "Fred," she whispered, shaking both of the boys' shoulders. "George. Wake up."

"Huh?" Both sprang awake, wands in their hands.

"It's just me," she assured them. They both blinked at her, then smiled. It unnerved her at exactly how much they were alike in their mannerisms. "What are you two doing down here so bloody early in the morning?"

"We're a little upset that little ickle Ronnie gets to go with you to support you," said George.

"and we don't," finished Fred. "Don't we matter enough to go as well?"

She shook her head. "It's not that it's-" she wasn't sure what was going on. She didn't know that the twins would actually want to go. But it was too late now, and well, who knows what kind of havoc they would spread in Demon World with there clever tricks. "It's just, well, I didn't know that you wanted to come with me. And anyways, it's too late. You'll have to stay here this time." She felt bad, but it was the truth. Of course she hoped she would never have to return to Demon World under these circumstances.

They sighed and stood up. "Fine." Their voices resounded together, in a kind of disappointment she had not heard from them before. "You're just worried that we would make a mess of things." said Fred.

"We wouldn't," said George. "Honest. And we'll prove to you that we can behave and be serious when we have to be-"

"Really, more like _need_ to be," corrected Fred. And Alex saw that they weren't kidding. They had set expressions on their faces, but it really made them look a little more silly than they probably had intended.

"I really would like to see that," she kissed their cheeks. "But don't lose yourselves in the process." She already felt bad for what could possibly happen while with the others in Demon World. She continued to the portrait hole after Fred and George went back to their dormitory.

At the portrait hole in the common room Alex spoke to Harry telepathically, _**Harry, time to wake up**._

There was a short pause, and Alex thought that he might still be asleep, but there was a sleepy reply, _**Thanks, Kurama already handled that**._ She smiled inwardly. Of course Kurama would have taken care of it. He was always up at the crack of dawn like she and even Hiei were. She left the tower and made her way down to the dungeons. She knew that Hiei had probably already gotten Draco up, but she wanted to greet her boyfriend properly.

It was a big risk taking a Malfoy with her into Demon World. His father more that likely had deep ties to the demons that had supported Voldemort in the First War. It was a risk, yes, but Draco had known the risks going in and he hadn't backed out yet. Yet. It was the one word that made her nervous about today. Any of them could still back out and she wouldn't stop them. Alex had no right to.

There was another reason she wanted Draco to come with her. Another reason she wanted all of them to come with her. Demon World changed people. She hadn't told them that, but it was a hard thing to explain. How could someone explain that your soul might change just by entering another world? But she knew it would be for the best. Humans were susceptible to flowing magic that was beyond their control. It would explain what was happening to Harry with his telepathy. But once they passed Spirit World and went to Demon World, they would have to face the darker sides of their soul and find who they truly were.

It would also tell Alex if Draco was meant for her. And if Draco truly loved her. Of course, even that was still too early to tell. They were only thirteen of course.

It might take the whole year for the changes to manifest themselves, but they would start almost immediately. And they wouldn't even sense it until it was really too late to stop them.

Alex hated herself for lying to them, but would they still follow Alex to this strange place if they knew the truth of what it did to humans? Probably not. And she needed her friends there with her. No matter the cost.

Alex shook her head and realized that she had stopped in front of the Slytherin House door. She rallied herself once again and called out to Hiei. _**Mind opening the door? It's a bit chilly out here**._ Alex swore she heard rustling from the other side of the invisible door and moments later Draco's flushed face appeared as the door slid open. She couldn't help but smile. "Morning Draco," she said calmly. He was wearing black robes that suited him well. He wasn't going to deny the demons the pleasure of knowing that wizards were entering their territory, and that he wasn't afraid. Though looking directly in his eyes, Alex could tell that Draco was afraid. Her smiled widened and she hugged the blond boy. "Don't worry Draco," she reassured him. "Everything is going to be alright." _I hope._ She added to herself. He pulled away, reluctantly, and nodded.

"I know," said Draco, keeping his voice steady. "It has to be."

"Are we ready to go?" Hiei interrupted with impatience in his voice. "Others will be waking soon, and I want to be gone before they are."

Alex glanced at him. He was wearing his usual attire that he wore outside of the school; all black with his sword strapped to his side. She had decided against carrying her swords with her, she had kept her wand close in her robe sleeve. "Soon, Hiei," she replied. "We have to meet Dumbledore in his office." She turned back to Draco, and Alex couldn't read his expression anymore. His face had gone neutral, or blank. "Ready Draco?"

He nodded, "Yes."

Hiei and Draco followed her silently up to Dumbledore's office. She wished that someone would say something. The silence unnerved her greatly. Draco seemed to sense her uneasiness because he fell into step next to her and clutched her hand. She squeezed it and looked over at him. His eyes still held the neutrality and blankness from before, but there was a smile on his lips. "As you said, it's going to be alright." She didn't reply, perhaps that was why his eyes held the blankness. Of course, it could be so that he didn't betray the worry and fright that he was more than likely holding inside. "Right?" His voice wavered. She squeezed his hand again.

"Yes," she whispered. "Of course, Draco."

They reached the Gargoyle which hid the entrance to the Headmaster's office and found the others were waiting for them. She saw Ron tense at the sight of Draco and make an ugly face at him. Alex was about to reprimand him and remind him that they had to work together, but Draco beat her to words, "Careful Weasley, or you might find an unpleasant surprise in your trunk when we arrive at our destination."

Ron was about to retaliate. "_Draco!_" She hissed at him. Her patience was wearing thin already, piled onto the stress of what they were facing. "I do not want tension. You're going to have to deal with him being around for a week. If you can't handle it, then I will leave you here," she sighed. "But I would rather not have to do that."

Ron swallowed the insult he was getting ready to hurl at Draco and resigned with a huff and a muttered, "Sorry." Draco even looked ashamed under her reproachful stare.

She nodded, and stepped up to the gargoyle, said the password and everyone followed her up the stairs to Dumbledore's office.

* * *

Koenma was waiting in the office, standing next to Albus's desk, stroking Fawke's feathered head when Alex led the group that was going to be traveling with them to Spirit World. He felt a surge of pride when he saw that Alex held her head high. She wore magnificent robes that made her, currently, steel eyes stand out. It was how she would present herself to the Spiritueux, and he knew that she would not disappoint their expectations of being a proud demon.

Albus stood to greet them. But it was he who spoke first.

"Alex," he nodded at her. "Boys," he nodded at his detectives and Harry, Ron and Draco. "And of course, Miss Granger. All of you have been informed of what is going to happen when you arrive in Spirit World. Though you won't be residing there. Alex has opened her home to all of you in Demon World. If any of you wish to back out, then you should leave now."

"Excellent, then I think I'll just head back to bed, it might still be warm-"

"Not you, Urameshi," Alex did her best to keep a straight face. The boy next to her, Draco Malfoy, she could learn from him. His eyes held no emotion, and his face was an empty slate. That would be good in Court, and Alex needed that composure. She let her emotions rule her too much. It was also that boy that he was most worried about. His father, Lucius Malfoy, had connections with demons who had slipped detection during the raids to return demons to their home from the wizarding world after the First War.

"Well then," said Albus. "Lord Koenma, I believe that they are all set to go. Their things have made it safely to their destination," he turned to the group by his door. "Take care, all of you. You are heading into a world that is vastly different then our own. Listen to Alexandria, Koenma and the Detectives." His eyes twinkled as he snapped his fingers. The fireplace roared to life and the flames turned a glittery blue. "Take care, and I trust that you will all be back here safely by the end of the week."

Alex stepped closer to the fire. "Thank you Professor Dumbledore. I assure you that I won't lose this battle," she bowed her head respectfully. "I can't afford to." And with that she stepped into the flames and disappeared.

Koenma stepped over to the fireplace. "If you will Mr. Potter. Then Mr. Weasley, Mr. Malfoy and Miss Granger. Boys you will go after." Harry moved over to the flames, quite warily and after a deep breath he stepped through. Koenma swore he felt a tug on his mental barriers as the young boy had passed him, but he shook it off. The rest of the boys stepped through.

"Koenma, a word before you depart?" Koenma turned around and found Albus standing in the spot he had been moments ago next to his phoenix.

"Sir?"

"Take care of them," said Albus, his voice betraying nothing more than concern for his pupils. But Koenma knew that there was something laying under those words. Possibly- love? "They are the key to saving both worlds. To uniting a front that has been in disarraying for more that thirteen years. If either of them are lost to this unnecessary- inconvenience, then I fear the worst when Voldemort returns to full power."

Koenma let the words weigh on his shoulders. He needed to bear this burden for Alex and Harry for as long as he could. He had to keep them safe for as long as possible- until they were ready to shoulder the truths themselves. "I understand Albus. I promise that they will return, though I cannot say that they will return as they once were. They will learn things there, though, it may not show yet."

Albus closed his eyes, and for a moment Koenma thought the older gentleman had fallen asleep. But he was just in deep thought. "Yes, they will be changed won't they? Let us hope it is for the best."

"I hope so as well, sir." And then Koenma disappeared into the flames.

* * *

Alex let the wizards gaze in wonder at Koenma's office, where the fire had deposited them. It was quite a room, but one that she was overly familiar with. It was a large room with a rather small desk centered at the far end, opposite two extremely large doors. There was a door across from them that led to her home in Demon World. Alex had always found the office too simple, and too plain. She preferred her own home in Demon World, and was glad that they would be staying there.

"Alex, why are those doors so big?" piped Hermione. She had been unusually quiet in the weeks leading up to this. Hopefully she would return to her full inquisitive nature that Alex found so endearing.

"Lord Enma, Koenma's father, is a very large man- or demon. Quite big," she trailed off. Alex wasn't sure if Lord Enma would be at the trial, but for her friends' sake, she hoped not. They would probably shit themselves at seeing how big the ruler of Spirit World was. "So, any other questions?"

"Yeah," It was Ron. "What's beyond the doors?"

Alex smiled. "The ogres office's. Hundreds of ogres are running around out there dealing with the paperwork that doesn't have to be piled up on Koenma's desk over there," she pointed at the desk in the middle of the room. Papers were piled on them, but the only reason they were there was because they required the Ruler's official seal. "Koenma likes to procrastinate."

"I'm right here you know," came Koenma's teenage voice from the fireplace behind her. They all were laughing.

"Sorry Koenma," said Alex as she turned to face him. "I just wanted them to know why there were piles of papers there that really have no need to be there."

"Because I'm taking on the burdens of dealing with affairs in Demon World until you proclaim your rightful place as Queen." She blanched at his words. They hit her like knives. Alex bowed her head as Koenma strode over to his desk and sat at it. "But that is beside the point right now, and I don't want you feeling guilty about it. There's just no time for you to do so right now." He snapped his fingers and one of the large doors opened. Botan walked through it and it closed behind her.

"Welcome back Alex," her voice was light and cheerful. "And to the rest of you, welcome to Spirit World. We're glad to have you here, despite the circumstances." She stood at Koenma's right shoulder. It was her usual place, one that Alex never questioned.

"Thanks Botan," she returned her gaze to Koenma. "Is there anything else? I would like to show the others where they're staying."

"There is one thing," said Koenma, leaning back into his chair. Alex saw that George, the ogre, stood behind him now. _When did he slip in here?_ "We've learned that Lucius Malfoy has contacts with former demon supporters of Voldemort-" Shudders came from Ron, Hermione and Draco. "- and that young Mr. Malfoy here will need to stay as out of sight as possible while here."

"Why?" said Draco, and Alex heard some kind of emotion slip through the blank slate that he had built around him. Demon World was beginning to take hold of his soul.

"If you're father finds out the reasons why you're here, it will compromise everything that we have been fighting to hide," answered Koenma. "The Ministry cannot find out about Alex or the Detectives. The wizarding world is not ready for that yet. The relationship we have established is fragile as it is. Parents would freak if they found out that demons are attending Hogwarts, and that they're precious Girl-Who-Lived is in fact of demon ancestry," Koenma sighed. "Walls would crumble and nothing could be repaired."

Hesitantly, Draco gave a stiff nod. _He probably doesn't like lying to his father. _Alex thought, as she stared at the Malfoy heir. _I'm sorry for the things my home is about to put you through Draco._ "If that's everything?" Koenma nodded. "Excellent. Shall we depart?" She waved her hand to the smaller door across the room. She led the way and opened the door and poked her head through. "Wonderful, it's snowing. It wasn't suppose to be when I looked at the weather earlier," she shrugged. "Go ahead and walk through." The group of wizards and detectives stepped through and she followed behind them, excited to see what their reactions would be.

* * *

Harry wasn't sure what to expect when they had arrived in Demon World. But he certainly wasn't expecting it to be so- quiet. He stood in the middle of a snow covered forest. The snow acted like a set of earmuffs, the world was silent, and Harry was afraid to speak, he didn't want to disturb the silence that he found so welcoming.

"Welcome to Everto Alveus," said Alex, looking extremely proud of the surroundings. There was a large manor in the middle of the clearing that the door in Koenma's office had placed them.

Harry, and the others he noticed, huddled into themselves, save for Hiei and Kurama. Apparently they were immune to the cold. Alex looked at them, and the smile disappeared from her face. "Oh, I'm sorry, come on, we'll get you all inside!" She led the way to the front doors, and opened them. Eagerly the rest of them entered and Harry felt warmth spread through his limbs like an internal fire.

Once he was warm again, he let his eyes scan the room they were in. It was very grand looking. Their were marble floors of what looked like slate and and ornate wooden vine carved doorway led to what looked like a long hallway. There were two sets of wooden stairs that met at the top and middle and led to what Harry guessed were bedrooms and bathrooms and other rooms that he couldn't possibly imagine being in a house like this. "Ahead of us leads to the living room, library, greenhouse, kitchens and basement, which is the training room. Up the stairs are the bedrooms where we'll be staying and each has it's own personal loo, and there is another library and several studies, including an astronomy deck. There are even some rooms that I haven't explored yet," Alex pointed in every direction and Harry had trouble following half of what she had said. He was afraid of walking into a room he didn't belong in or wasn't allowed to enter. Alex looked at him and smiled. She had heard his thoughts again. That was one of the things he planned on working on while he was here. "Don't worry about getting lost, or walking into a room you can't go into," said Alex. "There will be signs on your rooms and all rooms are yours to explore. There's nothing to hide here, as far as I know." Harry relaxed, and added exploring to his list of things to do here.

"Come, I'll show you your rooms," she led them upstairs and they turned left. "The first room here is yours Ron, your stuff should already be here." On the door, Harry saw that Ron's name was painted in golden lettering. Further down was Hermione's room, then Kurama's, Hiei's was around a corner that they had turned, then Yusuke's, and Kuwabara's. They turned another corner and there were Malfoy's, his and Alex's rooms. All were written in the same gold lettering. "If you want to change rooms, just take your trunk to another room. The house knows what to do."

"The house?" that was Malfoy's slightly panicked voice. Alex shrugged.

"I inherited this place from my mother when she was killed," her voice wavered. "I don't know everything about it, but it's been in the family for generations and the house seems to have developed a mind of it's own. As far as I can tell, as long as it's treated kindly, it will treat it's inhabitants with kindness in turn." Alex yawned. "I'm going to get a little more sleep. Feel free to do what you like. Just don't leave the clearing outside. The wards only extend as far as the edge," she opened the door to her room and Harry caught a glimpse of green walls and maroon drapery. "Have good morning," and with that she shut the door. Harry turned to see that Hiei and Kurama had disappeared. Yusuke and Kuwabara made their way to the living room; Harry had heard them mutter something about video games. That left him with Hermione, Ron and Malfoy.

"I'm going to look at the libraries, Ron, care to join me?" said Hermione. She jerked her head in some knowing fashion and Ron nodded.

"Yeah, sure," and they were gone.

Now Harry was stuck with Malfoy. Something in the back of his mind told him that Fate had somehow planned this all out and it was meant for them to end up alone together.

Harry didn't like Fate at this moment.

"Now what?" said Malfoy. By his voice, Harry could tell that he didn't like Fate all that much either. But it was strange to hear that his walls had broken in the course of the morning. Earlier, Harry had noticed that Malfoy had pulled up a barrier around his emotions and thoughts. He hadn't been able to tell what he was thinking or feeling, but now? Now everything was an open book and Harry was eager to read. Without so much as a flinch, Harry dove into Malfoy's mind, searching for anything he could find that would be intriguing to him. _Why did I have to get stuck here with Potter? What kind of cruel woman is Fate to do this to me? _

As interesting as his current thoughts were, Harry was interested in the deeper things. He dove into the pools and cruised to the bottom. _Why do I feel so heavy? What kind of world is this? Is it doing something to me? _So Malfoy had the same thoughts about this world that Harry had when he had stepped through the fire? Harry had felt as if something had taken a grip on his soul and was wringing it out like a wet towel. Was this world going to rip his soul out? Perhaps replace it with a new one? Harry wasn't prepared for any kind of dramatic change like that.

But it would explain Malfoy's thoughts, and Alex's steadily growing barriers on certain thoughts that she wasn't allowing him to see at all.

"Potter?" Malfoy's voice echoed through his thoughts, bring Harry back into his own mind. "What's wrong with you?" Harry wasn't sure if there was worry that flooded his voice at that moment or not but Harry liked hearing another tone rather than the smug hatred that Malfoy normally spoke with when he said something to him.

"Fine, just, ah, adjusting to our new surroundings," Harry said quickly. But he couldn't help but add, "And the idea of spending a whole week with you? It's going to be murder."

Malfoy's eyes narrowed. "I'm leaving," he marched towards his room. Harry watched as he entered the room, a startled look appeared on his face when he saw inside, and then the door slammed behind him. Harry hoped that it didn't wake Alex if she really was asleep. Harry sighed, that wasn't exactly how he had hoped things would go. He really did want to understand Malfoy better. He wanted understand and see what Alex saw in him. He shifted on his feet uncomfortably. These thoughts were certainly new. He hadn't thought that before they left the castle. What was making him think them now? He shook his head and decided that he should go and look for Ron and Hermione. If Harry knew any better, Hermione would have sought out Kurama.

* * *

Alex leaned against her door. She hoped for a little more conversation between Draco and Harry than the minimal words that had passed between them. She had felt the pull of Harry crossing into Draco's mind. What he had found there apparently hadn't changed the situation. It was Alex who had asked Hermione to find a way for the two to be alone. She wanted them to be friends, or at least, not enemies. Hermione tolerated Draco and Ron threw the occasional insult, but there was a tension between Harry and Draco that Alex couldn't explain.

And trying to figure it out made her head hurt.

She regretted not bringing the book that she was suppose to be working on for Snape with her. She needed his help with the stability of her mental defenses more than ever. Alex turned to toss her robes on her bed and change into more comfortable clothing when something caught her eye by her desk. There was a long thin box lying against her chair. She picked it up and placed the box on her bed, her heart thumping in her chest. She lifted the top off revealing her Firebolt, completely unharmed and in the same condition it had been when she received it. Alex gasped. She had thought that it would never make it back into her hands again. After a few moments of admiring the broom she saw a note sticking out of the twigs on the end of her broom. She pulled it out and unfolded it:

_Alexandria,_

_Your broom came back free of curses and other defenses that could have potentially harmed you. Please forgive me in the way that I had taken this away from you. It was wrong of me and I should have explained better. I was only doing what I thought was best at the time and I only have your best interest at heart._

_Love,_

_Kurama_

Alex smiled. She dropped the note, grabbed the Firebolt and left her room to find Kurama. Granted it wouldn't be overly difficult since he went to the same place every time they came to Everto Alveus_._ Alex descended the stairs and trotted into the library. Kurama was in front of a bookshelf near the doorway. There was a fire burning in the fireplace along the side wall; Hiei was sleeping on a love seat near the fire and Hermione with Ron and Harry were sitting over a table on the other side of the room; Hermione seemed to be nagging the boys to start on their homework. But none of that mattered. What mattered was the red head across the room from her. Kurama seemed to have sensed her presence, because he turned to look at her.

"Everything alright Alex?" He still held his polite voice for her. Granted, she hadn't spoken much to him after the taking of her broom but-

She practically flew across the room, hugging Kurama and sending him flying into the bookshelf. "You prat," she cried into his shoulder. "You bloody prat," It was all she could manage in terms of a thanks. He seemed startled at first, but after a few stunned moments she felt his arms wrap around her shoulders.

"I know," was all he replied with.

"Thank you," Alex finally muttered, her head still buried in his shoulder.

"So I take it this means you forgive me?"

She pulled away from him, and looked into his emerald eyes. "Of course, you care about me," she shook her head at her own stupidity. "I should have realized that from the start."

"Alex?" She tilted her head to see Hermione, Ron and Harry staring at them. "Everything alright?"

Alex released herself completely from Kurama's hug and waved her broom at them. "Better than alright!" she cheered. "I have my Firebolt back!" She looked around. "Where's Draco?"

"Upstairs," replied Harry, looking ashamed, as if it was his fault. "He, uh, didn't say much after you retired to your room."

Alex frowned. "Tch, figures," And she departed the room before anyone could say another word. She wouldn't have this. She knew that Draco and Harry had parted ways but she had hoped that Draco would have at least attempted to socialize with the others. She went to her room, she hadn't planned on bringing her broom with her, and when confronting Draco she didn't want to risk breaking her Firebolt by whacking him upside the head at his stupidity.

To her surprise, when she opened her bedroom door, her room wasn't empty. Draco sat on the reading bench by her window. He turned to face her, a faint smile on his lips. "Draco," she couldn't manage any other words.

"You were listening to Potter and I weren't you?" said Draco, standing to meet her halfway in the room. His eyes glanced at the broom and they narrowed. He flipped the conversation quickly. "Where did you get that?" He pointed at it.

Alex tilted her head in confusion. "I thought it was a birthday gift from you," she said, but Draco shook his head. "Then, who-" It dawned on her then. It wasn't Draco Kurama was worried about harming her. It was someone else. And he, Koenma and even possibly Hiei knew who. Alex's muscles tensed and felt her breathing come in quick sharp breathes. "I am _tired_ of the _lying_!" she growled fiercely. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Draco shrink back. She closed her eyes and calmed herself. "I'm sorry Draco," she moved closer to him, brushing her lips across his forehead. "I don't mean to frighten you. It's nothing, really." She assured him when he gave her a quizzical look about her outburst. Alex set her broom on her desk and took Draco's hand. "Come, there are some friends I'd like you and the others to meet." And with that she led him downstairs to gather the others and meet these friends. They could discuss his and Harry's problems later. They would have quite awhile to work those differences out while Demon World took its hold on them.


	6. Muggle Contraptions and Tugging Senses

This chapter is a little short, but I wanted to put the trial and it's affairs in the next chapter, otherwise this would have been one huge ordeal, and lots of words would have made me lose track of what the hell was going on... this way it's much simpler to follow.

Enjoy!

* * *

Alex led Draco and the others into the training room in the basement. It was a grand room, filled with a sparring circle, punching bags, exercise equipment, weights and other objects required to make oneself stronger. Yusuke and Kazuma were already there.

"Are Jin and the others here yet?" she inquired when they saw her come in.

"Right here lassie," came a voice from her left. She turned and was caught in a whirlwind and tossed into the air. She squealed and was caught by two burly arms.

"Looks like our little sheila's gettin' taller," said a voice from the body that caught her. She poked him in the stomach and she was placed back on the ground. Alex knew her face bore a huge grin, one that she couldn't seem to hide even if she wanted to scold the two that had treated her like a little girl.

"It's been too long Chu, Jin," she nodded at each of them. She turned to the others that had come with them. "Rinku, Touya, it's good to see you two as well." Rinku jumped into her waiting arms, happy to see her. But Touya's eyes were on the people behind her. She turned her head and set Rinku down. "Guys, I want you to meet some friends of mine," she waved her left hand at Draco, Harry and the others. "This is Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy." They each nodded slightly in turn when she indicated them. "And in turn, this is Jin, Rinku, Chu and Touya."

"You brought wizards into our world?" Touya voice was filled with scolding. He was an ice apparition and she had heard his voice cold and demeaning before, but never scolding. "Do you have any idea of the ramifications of your actions?" No wondering he was scolding; she was being treated like a little girl. Alex didn't take kindly to that.

"I did, and I do," she replied in a cold voice that could match the ice he knew how to conjure so well. "Don't lecture me on the ramifications of what is right and what is wrong Touya." He said no more.

"Come now," said Kurama breaking the icy silence. "We invited you here so that we could have a smile on our faces before the trial, can we at least try to achieve that today?"

Touya looked away, but Alex smiled. "Thank you Kurama," she said and turned to take in everyone in her vision. "How about dinner?" Her stomach grumbled right afterwords and that received a chuckle from the group.

"I think that's an excellent idea, I'll go prepare us some food," said Kurama turning to depart for the kitchen. "Harry, Ron, Hermione, Draco, care to help?" Alex saw Draco's startled expression at being invited to help. She gave him a little nudge to follow Kurama and he moved forward with some reluctance. With that, everyone went their separate ways.

* * *

Halfway up the stairs to her room Alex felt a hand wrap around her wrist. She turned to find Ron and Hermione staring at her with wide eyes. "Something wrong?" She asked, they were suppose to be in the kitchens helping Kurama with the food.

"We were going to ask you the same thing," said Hermione, stepping onto the step above Alex in order to be at eye level with her. "You came here for a trial and yet, instead of preparing for it, you're getting ready to go and fly your broom outside," Hermione shook her head as if was the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard of doing, Alex had told them that she wanted to test her broom before the start of the season. "You should be reading about who's going to be on the bench, how you're going to defend yourself, who's going to repres-" Alex placed a hand over the brunette's mouth and smiled.

"Relax Hermione," said Alex soothingly. "That's what we came here to do before the trial. As much as I would love to try and prepare for a trial, I can't." She let go of Hermione's mouth.

"But, why?" breathed Ron. "There must be something you can do to be prepared."

Alex shook her head. "It's not that kind of trial. It's not something we demons have experience with, and this one will probably go down in the history books. Demons do their best not to involve themselves in human world affairs, both Muggle and Wizard. You'll see that if you read some of the books here in the libraries. Only as a few hundred years ago, when wizards began hiding themselves from Muggle eyes, did demons become involved in what humans did. And no one really knows how that even came to be," she smiled at the two of them, hoping it was one of reassurance. "I thank you for your concern, but please, let me deal with this as I know how."

Ron nodded, as if he understood completely about what she was getting ready to face. "Why don't you join us in the kitchens Alex?" He suggested, grabbing her arm and swinging her back down the stairs. "You can play referee in any food fights that more than likely will break out between Malfoy and Harry." He said, as they walked down the hall that led to the kitchen, Hermione walked behind them, probably still thinking of a way to win Alex to her side of the trial.

"Well, I think Draco will be more concerned with the amount of Muggle electronics in the kitchen than what food is being made," she replied and Ron nearly stopped in his tracks but let Alex take the lead. "And I see you weren't expecting that either. I have no use for house elves, since I didn't even know about their existence until about two years ago. And as good as ogres are at most menial things, they aren't the best of cooks. Kurama is quite skilled in the kitchen and so he makes the meals when we're at home."

"But you use Muggle contraptions?" asked Ron, still looking quite flabbergasted at this discovery. They entered the kitchen and he had his answer.

The kitchen was large and open. There were two medium sized islands in the middle of the cream colored ceramic tiled floor. Each had a sink and surrounded by cutting boards. On one side of the room were two steel dishwashers and two matching walk-in refrigerators. Opposite the room were two steel, gas powered ovens and stoves and counter space for placing prepped food. On the counters were various objects that were found in Muggle kitchens; toasters, cooking utensils. Above the counters were cupboards that held plates, cups, bowls and other plate ware. Underneath the counters were more cupboards and drawers that held more utensils and pots and pans, mixing bowls and other various objects.

Kurama was in one of the fridges looking for the food items he would need to make for dinner.

"This kitchen is huge!" Harry exclaimed, when he saw them walk in. "Why do you need one so big?"

"Back when my mother was alive and when her parents ruled Demon World, they used to have lavish parties in the ballroom down the hall and the kitchen had to be big enough to supply enough food for all the guests."

"It's incredible," murmured Hermione, who was distracted by the grandeur of the place to stop nagging Alex about the trial.

"Where's Draco?" Alex asked when she didn't see the blond boy in the room. At once the other fridge door opened and out walked Draco with a bundle of potatoes in his arms. He dropped them in the sink of one of the islands.

"This is not the work for a Malfoy," he growled. Alex patted his flushed cheek.

"It builds character, Draco," she giggled. "It's good for you." She jumped up onto the counter behind him and sat there swinging her legs.

She watched the others move about the large kitchen. Hermione and Harry moved around the kitchen with an ease of knowing. They both were raised by Muggles, and thus knew how most of the contraptions in the room worked. Kurama was skilled in a Muggle operated kitchen, having been taught how to cook and bake by his sweet human Muggle mother Shiori. Alex watched as Ron would poke at certain objects he was confronted with that were unfamiliar to him. Hermione or Kurama would rush over when they sensed danger about his usage of a said object and would direct him on how to work it properly or move him to another project. Draco was more of an innocent when it came to the Muggle objects. When it came to Ron, he had some experience with Muggle objects; having a father who seemed to adore Muggles. But Draco was raised with minute contact with Muggles. At one point he had been eying a toaster near him while he was cutting carrots for steaming, Harry, who had been closest to him, asked what was wrong. Draco had replied in a shuttered and quiet voice, "Why is the thing's tail stuck in the wall?" Alex had nearly burst out laughing, Harry had an unreadable expression on his face that Alex could only possibly have guessed of something between confusion and his wanting to ask more. Harry returned back to his task, cheeks flushed, apparently unable to find words to return the question with.

"Alex, if you aren't going to help, I ask that you leave," Kurama had said later into the cooking process. Dinner was only a few minutes away. "You're nothing but an unwanted distraction." Alex opened her mouth to say something contradictory and probably condescending, but swallowed it and leaped off the counter and walked out of the kitchen.

* * *

If there was one thing that Draco didn't like about this trip to Demon World, it would probably have been all the Muggle contraptions. The Manor was absolutely filled with them, and the place was completely void of any help, ogre or house elf.

The other problems only kept piling up on top of each other one by one. Another issue Draco had was the fact that he was stuck in this Merlin-forsaken place for a week with Potter, the Granger girl and Weasley, his three least favorite people in the world. And he had been hoping for Alex and him to be able to spend time with each other like there summer at Malfoy Manor. But alas, they had barely been able to see more than a few minutes of each other alone. Granted they had only been there for less than a day.

But the biggest issue Draco was having was the nagging tearing feeling he had in his chest. It wasn't quite painful, but it did bother him, and annoyingly so. What annoyed him about it was that the pain seemed to dissipate when Potter was near by, and that was odd. What did Potter have to do with the ripping sensation in his ribcage? Draco really couldn't dwell on it. There was no time for it.

Draco found that the dinner he had helped make was amazing. After Alex had been dismissed from the kitchen, she had apparently gone to set up the dining hall for her guests as any hostess should rightfully do. Perhaps there was some hope for her being a somewhat properly trained high blood status demon. The hall was bigger than his own at Malfoy Manor. Granted the _house_ was bigger than his own. If his parents knew about this, they would probably grovel at Alex's feet for being of such higher status than the Malfoy's would ever hope to achieve. What made him clench his fists was the thought that Alex didn't even _care_ that she was of such a high placing. She acted like any normal person would act. He would fix that. He was determined to show her what it meant to be of high quality blood.

Draco's seat had been placed next to Potter's. Whether Alex had done so deliberately, he would never know. Alex sat on his other side at the long table, which was big enough to support the food and the many people who sat at it. Alex's demon friend, who had shown his dislike of wizards at the get go, sat as far away from them as possible, occasionally picking at the food he had placed on his plate.

Draco found other demons interesting, really. Alex rarely displayed her demon abilities, and Draco had a vague idea of what she was capable of. But these other demons were open about what they could do. The little one (Rinku was his name, Draco remembered) would send toys (yo-yos, Rinku had called them) flying, with controlled precision, at the back of Kuwabara's head, and would receive yells of some kind from the tall Hufflepuff. The red head with the horn (wasn't his name Jin?) would, as it seemed, levitate his food to his mouth, eating it out of mid air. The drunken one, who's name was Chu; the easiest name to remember, would chatter about his fights within the demon realm with Yusuke and Yusuke would reply with his stories about the fights that he got into during his free time over the summers.

Draco sighed into his nearly empty plate. It was a lot to take in. He rubbed the center of his chest. It would be easier if the tugging sensation would just bloody go away! Draco glanced over at Potter during dessert and caught the bespectacled boy staring at him. Or maybe he was staring past Draco and it was just his imagination? What ever it was, Potter hastily looked back at his own plate and rubbed his left side. Did he have tugging feelings too? Draco shook his head. What did he care about Potter and his problems? he went back to listening to the random and scattered conversations that were going on at the table. Alex was explaining Quidditch to Rinku and Jin who seemed to have taken an interest in the wizarding sport. He didn't see them getting a chance to play in the wintry weather that was going on outside.

Finally, it was all over and without waiting for Alex, Draco made his way to his room upstairs and went to the loo for a shower.

He let the warm water fall against his cool skin, and stood there letting the thoughts consume him. He had noticed Alex watching him all through the meal, and it wasn't a look he had wanted to receive. It was a look of concern and worry. If anything, it should be him who was worried about her. Maybe she knew something about the weird feelings he had been having in his chest. And were they related to the possible feelings in Potter left side? He sighed and let the warm water relax his muscles. It was going to be a long week.

* * *

Harry sat on his bed reading the Transfiguration pages they had been assigned to read for the week. He wasn't about to let Hermione nag him for skiving off his homework until the last possible moment. It was also a good distraction for all the thoughts swirling in his head. Being around everyone at the dining table had been absolutely overwhelming for his developing telekinetic abilities. Lucky for him, once the other demons had sensed an intrusion in their thoughts they had locked their minds up like one of the Gringotts vaults.

There was a knock on his door. "It's open," he called out. The door opened and Alex stood in the doorway.

"Are you all right Harry?" She asked, stepping in further and closing the door behind her. Harry set his book down on the nightstand.

"Yeah, why is something wrong that I should know about?"

Alex shook her head. Harry noticed that her hair was a brilliant black that curled around her shoulders. She sat on the edge of the bed. "I did want to apologize for Touya's behavior," said Alex, her voice barely above a whisper, as if someone might be listening to their conversation. "Just as wizards and witches are prejudice against demons, demons are prejudice against wizards and witches. Touya is only one of the many." She tilted her head at him, as if trying to observe him in a new light. "You will go to Hiei if you have trouble with your telekinesis, won't you? Just because we're away from Hogwarts doesn't mean that you should slack off on your training."

Harry smiled at her. "I think I've been doing well, all things considered."

Alex's eyes narrowed at him. "All things considered? What do you mean?"

Harry flinched as a spasm of the tugging feeling in his left side pulled outward. He grabbed his ribs, his hands smoothing out the fabric of his nightshirt, trying to play the gesture off as an itch. He hoped Alex hadn't caught the facial expressions he knew he had probably made. But judging by the look of worry that spread across her features. "Harry, what was that?"

He shook his head, "I don't know. It started when we got here. Is is some kind of side effect of Demon World?" He watched as Alex's eyes grew blank and shuttered. She was hiding something, then, he decided. Harry tried to pry into her mind but what he found was a desolate wasteland. To him, it appeared that she had emptied her mind of everything she held close to the surface. It seemed she was learning how to prevent Harry from reading her thoughts. He withdrew from her mind.

"Not that I know of," she replied, delicately, as though she knew he had tried to look. "I'll look into it though, alright?" She smiled, and her face grew warm again. "Get some sleep." Alex reached out and squeezed his hand, then left the room. Harry stared at the door once she had left. She knew something, and Harry was determined to find out what.

Harry was about to pick up his book again, when there was another knock on the door. He sighed. Apparently he just wasn't going to get anything done before getting some sleep. "It's open," He said. The door opened and Ron walked in, shutting the door behind him. "What's up, Ron?" Before answering, Ron sat himself in a nearby lounge chair.

"Mate, there's something odd about this place," said Ron, looking around as though something was watching him.

"What do you mean?" asked Harry, wondering if Ron was having the same tugging sensations he was.

"I- I dunno," Ron rubbed his right shoulder, as if trying to ward away something from that spot. "I feel this weird feeling in my shoulder, as though someone's pulling on it," So it wasn't just Harry that it was happening to. He wondered who else was affected. "And I get the feeling that there are things that Alex is hiding from us, do you know anything?" Harry knew Ron was asking if he had read anything in her mind that would indicate something of what was going on. Harry shook his head in reply, and Ron sighed. "Well, At least we aren't here for very long. As nice as this place is, I just don't like it." He stood to leave. "G'Night Harry."

"Night Ron." And Ron left his room. Harry suddenly felt more tired than he had been just a few minutes ago. Harry turned off the light on the bedside table and curled into his blankets, letting their warmth sweep over him.

* * *

Snape was beginning to become very irritated at his Slytherin's badgering. He was developing a headache that even potions wouldn't help soon. The latest questions still concerned where Draco Malfoy was, but it wasn't just about his location, it was also about why he could possibly have gone somewhere _willingly_ with Potter and his friends. Snape ignored the questions and told his students that the next person to ask was going to receive a week's worth of detention and points taken away.

The students had shut up quite quickly, to Snape's immense pleasure. Dumbledore, he knew, was taking care of any letters that were asking questions or stating the absences. The words would cease to exist on parchment once the wards sensed key words in the letters. Occasionally, the letters would have to be read and dealt with by hand, but it was a simple enough procedure and McGonagall and Flitwick were handling those menial tasks themselves.

Dumbledore had asked if Snape was willing to go with Alex and the others as a chaperon. Snape had declined with ease, he didn't like the idea of escorting a group of thirteen year olds into a world he knew next to nothing about. Snape had told Dumbledore that Alex was adult enough to manage the others on her own. She would not be without help, and Dumbledore agreed. Snape didn't dislike Alex, she was more mature than she would let on, and she wasn't as incompetent as the other students he had to teach. It was the idea of being around Potter that Snape found unpleasant. People still hero worshiped the boy when all he had done was sit there as a one year old.

Snape sat as his desk, grading paper that were horribly written and several, he could tell, had been copied from each other. It was a wonder that they were still even in the school with marks like these. In the middle of reading a particularly horrible Hufflepuff essay, there was a knock on the door. He never tolerated interruptions, but he exhaled a quiet sigh and said, "Enter," The door opened and in walked Pansy Parkinson.

Pansy was one of his brighter students, but when it came to social gatherings, she tended to be quiet and withdrawn, as though she would rather observe other people and judge them from what they said and did. And Snape knew she was jealous of Draco and Alex's relationship. Even he didn't understand how that was working himself, but he didn't want to be involved in people's personal lives. "Miss Parkinson. What do I owe the interruption to?"

"I know that you had said we shouldn't ask," she began, sounding meeker than he knew she was. He had that effect on most people. "But, I can't help but be worried about Draco's welfare, and I really wish to know where he is."

Snape narrowed his eyes. "Miss Parkinson, I am standing by what I had said earlier this week. A week's worth of detention and though it pains me to do so, five points from Slytherin," He watched as her face contorted with dismay and possibly disgust for even daring to take any points away from his own house. "And you will receive no answer. Professor Dumbledore has asked us to stay quiet about the matter and when the others return," _If they return_. He thought darkly. "if they wish to tell you what happened then they may, but you will find no answers until they get back. Now, return to your common room, or I will add another detention and deduct more points." Parkinson glared at him, as though she might be able to scare an answer out of him, but then she decided that would be impossible and left his office. Snape sighed again; there were still three days before Alex and the others were scheduled to return. The trial would begin tomorrow and he hoped that they would get to return, if only so as to stop his students from badgering him.


	7. The Trial and Its Trials

Author's Note: Hey all, hope you're enjoying this as much as I am. You all are soon going to discover how much of a wickedly evil, yet awesome person I am. This chapter comes with inspiration to all the artwork I've found on Tumblr (one of the greatest websites ever created) and all the Drarry fanfiction and pics I've found. So please enjoy the climax of this part of the story. The Trial!

* * *

Alex sat at the dining table, alone. It was still the early hours of the morning. It was also the morning of the trial. She hadn't been able to sleep much last night, and so she had gone downstairs and sat at the table, reading books, as Hermione suggested, but it was to no avail. She already knew some of the demons that would be sitting on the bench, having grown up around most of them. She knew the charges, and so Alex had a vague idea of how to anticipate the questions and how to answer them. Alex also knew how the bench functioned. There would be at least one telepathic demon who would try and read their minds.

"Morning Alex," She turned to see Kurama in the doorway.

"Morning Kurama," He sat down next to her.

"Something other than the trial is bothering you isn't it?" He asked. She sighed.

"They know," she said quietly. "Or at least they suspect."

"About?" He tilted his head towards her. She glared at him.

"Don't play coy, Kurama," she growled. "About their souls. It's worse than I thought it would be while they were here, and hopefully the sensations they feel disappear when we return to Hogwarts." She lowered her eyes and traced the grain of the wood with her finger. _If we return._ The thought poked at her brain and her heart constantly. A light touch stopped her tracing.

"We will get back," he said into her ear. "Don't doubt yourself, or they will know."

Alex took a deep shuddering breath. "You're right. Besides there are other things I need to worry about right now-" There was an exploding noise from upstairs and a loud wail of "MALFOY!" and wild giggling as a flash of platinum blond flew past Alex and stood behind her chair. Alex glanced over at Kurama who had a look of bewilderment on his face. "Like that- what did you do this time Draco?" She tilted her head back and was greeted with steel eyes filled with mischief.

"Nothing that isn't fixable," said Draco in what could have been a sing song voice. He had been taking his confinement to the house with Harry and the others quite well. In that he was causing mayhem where ever he went. If Alex's home hadn't had magical properties her house would have been half destroyed by now. Alex sighed and Draco took the opportunity to plant a kiss on her lips. When he pulled away, he looked more like the Malfoy she knew from their first and second year, than the Weasley twin he had become in their time at Everto Alveus. **_I will murder the conniving little bastard, if it's the last thing I do! _**Harry's voice rang through her head, filled with malicious intent encased in every word. Looking at Kurama, he had heard it too.

Moments later, Harry appeared in the doorway, wand held aloft, and what looked like black soot covering most of the top half of his body. "Don't hide behind her Malfoy! _Petrificus Totalus!_"

Alex barely had time to react when she deflected the spell with her own silent _Protego_. _Good thing I've been practicing wordless and wandless magic._ She gave herself an imaginary pat on the back. "Harry, that's enough," she warned as he prepared another to fling another spell. "And Draco, no more from you, I've tolerated it long enough, but explosions in my home is where I draw the line." Draco's lower lip stuck out slightly in a pout as he sat in the chair on Alex's other side and folded his arms. Alex had to admit, he was good at the pouting, but she had learned to be better at resisting. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Harry falter. His hand dropped slightly. That was an interesting look on his face. But Alex couldn't discern what it meant.

"Fine," Draco huffed. Harry took a step forward, then regained some sense of decorum and fixed himself again.

"Fine," Harry agreed. He then turned and went to go wash off the soot-like dust.

Alex hoped that they would keep themselves in check while at the trial. _This is why I didn't bring Fred and George,_ Alex thought to herself as she made to go and make tea and breakfast. _Too much mayhem for my liking._

_

* * *

_

Alex's heart thumped in her chest so hard and so loudly that it was astounding that no one around her could hear it. She and the others - all twelve of them, thirteen if she counted herself- stood in front of large double doors that led to the courtroom. Despite her pounding heart, she felt amazingly calm. Though the grip Draco had kept on her hand could have accounted for that, it was comforting and he was being as supportive as he possibly could, without words.

"Eyes open, mouths shut," she said, her voice hard and commanding. She was going to be doing all the talking if she could. "Unless you are prompted to speak. If you must say something, say it with the heart, not with the mind. With emotion, not with logic." She had hoped, out of all of them there, that Hermione would listen to these words. She would be the one most likely to use logic to find a way out of this.

As the doors began to creak open, she felt Draco shudder into her shoulder. She leaned back. _Everything is going to be all right. I promised, remember?_ She felt him nod into her shoulder and then straighten. The doors were fully open and they walked in, Alex leading the way.

The room was simple. It was round and the bench sat up above where the defendants would sit at three square tables in the middle of the room. Behind the tables were a couple rows of chairs where people who were allowed to view the trials would sit.

Alex felt Draco's grip on her hand release. She turned and watched as Draco, Harry, Ron and Hermione sat on the chairs, Chu, Rinku, Jin and Touya sat in the row behind them. Alex stood next to the middle table. Kurama, Hiei sat at the table to her left, Kazuma and Yusuke sat at the one to her right. Because of her status, they weren't allowed to sit at the table with her. Koenma entered the room with Botan, who sat in one of the chairs behind them. Koenma stood next to Alex. "Are you ready?" He whispered to her. She nodded, it was all she could manage at this point.

Then the Spiriteux arrived.

There were five of them in all. Not many, but it was enough. The Head Spiriteux, Koya was Jin's cousin and had known Alex for most of her life. But Alex didn't think there were many other supporters. Perhaps Jakobe, if she was lucky. They had butted heads most of her life. Unfortunately, Alex didn't know the rest of the Spiriteux. Faces she recognized, possibly names to those faces, but nothing more. She would have to rectify that in the future. Once the Spiriteux were settled in their seats, Koya spoke.

"This court is gathered here on the twenty-third day of the ninth month of the lunar cycle. Defendants are Yusuke Urameshi, Kazuma Kuwabara, Suuichi "Yoko Kurama" Minamino, Hiei Jaganshi and Alexandria Lenora Rowen," Koya's voice carried well over the bench to their ears below. For being Jin's cousin they looked remarkably alike, she had lengthy red hair, the same pointy ears and horn and bright green eyes. She had the same Irish-like inflection in her voice.

"Charges are as follows:" began a dark haired, dark eyed demon. Alex knew him to be Marco, an earth demon. He held several files in front of him. There was no doubt that they were the private files on each of them. "Attending a wizarding school and exposing wizards to the demonic community and most recent charges are bringing wizards into the demon plane-"

Alex stood erect and held her head higher than she already had it. "I object to the last charges," Alex fought to keep her voice cool and calm as possible. It was quite a challenge. Her fury fought to break through.

Marco looked down at her with his dark eyes. "You are representing yourself?" He asked, as though she had just made some little noise rather than an objection. She wouldn't let that go so easily.

"I am, and I object to the last charges," she repeated, with a little more passion in her voice.

Another voice entered the scene, "Why Lady Rowen?" It was Jakobe. He would be the most formidable on the bench; he was the telepath. She swiveled her eyes to him.

"As princess of Demon World, I have the right to bring who I wish into my home. They never left Everto Alveus or its grounds. And I am allowed to bring in my own defense. These wizards and witch represent a side that would have been left unheard in this trial, making it completely one sided."

"Who have you brought with you?" asked Koya, looking down at her friends sitting behind her.

Alex didn't turn as she spoke. She wouldn't be able to keep the composure she had built if she looked at them. "Harry James Potter, The Boy Who Lived and someone I regard as my brother," Alex felt the embarrassing thoughts run through his mind behind the makeshift barriers he and Hiei had compiled a couple nights earlier. "Ronald Bilius Weasley, second youngest child from a pureblood family dedicated to the light," He would probably be curious on how she found out his middle name. "Hermione Jean Granger, a Muggleborn witch and thus part of both the magical and non-magical worlds," She could practically feel Hermione blushing from behind her. "And Draco Lucius Malfoy, under my protection from his father finding out about his being here, his father served under Lord Voldemort-" she felt Draco, Ron and Hermione flinch. "-Risk of his fathers demon contacts finding out is too great. And-" she hesitated, but if she didn't say it out loud, then it would only be forced from her lips later in the trial. "and I am currently dating Draco Malfoy." The words felt foreign and heavy on her tongue, almost like they didn't belong there. She heard Draco shift in his seat behind her.

Koya regarded her carefully. "We will determine whether the last charges will be held or not at the end of questioning." Alex bowed her held slightly. It was the best she was going to get right now, and she could fight about it later.

"I believe that we are ready to begin," said a blond, blue eyed woman. "Lord Koenma, Lady Rowen, you may be seated." Koenma sat and Alex reluctantly forced herself into her chair. It didn't feel right, allowing these demons to have such detrimental power over them.

"I will begin these proceedings," said Jakobe. _Of course you would, what vengeance will you take on me now?_ His lips quirked as her thoughts passed through his head. Alex didn't care. She would take whatever crap he would throw at her.

* * *

Draco sat and watched. It was all he could do. The demons on the bench questioned Alex and Hiei and the others. They answered calmly, with the occasional outburst of rage or appall. How could he blame them? The demons on the bench seemed to be asking ridiculous that involved the messier and darker parts of their lives. But Draco did find himself learning new things about his friends- _friends? _This world really was messing with him.

Draco learned that Kurama had once been the most notorious thief in all of demon world. Who would have guessed from his calm demeanor and intelligent eye?

Draco learned that Hiei had once killed just for fun. This didn't surprise him all that much. What did surprise him was that upon meeting Yusuke, all that had changed.

Draco learned that Yusuke had once been dead for more than a few weeks, and had been brought back to life. The boy was so lively now, Draco really couldn't believe it.

Draco learned that Kuwabara- well, actually, he hadn't learned anything new about the boy. He was a loyal friend and quite an open book about most things

And Alex- there was so much that had been learned and lost from her, he wasn't sure what to think. She had been quite the delinquent growing up. She resented children who had parents and lashed out at most everything and everyone. He also learned of her mother. She had been Queen of Demon World, but had some how carried the gene of magical blood and was able to attend Hogwarts. She had given up her place as Queen, in title, but not in blood and went to live in the wizarding world, having fallen in love with a wizard she had gone to school with. But then she had been murdered by Voldemort along with Potter's parents and the rest was history. He didn't like the way he was hearing this. He would rather hear about this from Alex's own lips, so why not forget about what he was hearing when he left?

But he knew he wouldn't be able to.

What confused him the most was how irrelevant to the matters at hand. What did this have to do with their attendance at Hogwarts? Demons were odd creatures, that's for sure.

Draco turned to look at Potter. There was worry in his green eyes. The tugging sensation pulled at his chest, but Draco had learned to ignore it by now. Did he not care that Alex had lied about her mostly perfect childhood? Probably not. Not from the look he was giving her back.

After a few more questions directed at Alex and the others, the bench decided to take some swings at them. And Alex couldn't protect them any more. Draco saw that she had been trying, with every flinch in her body, every twitch of a finger, a tilt of the head. She had kept the demons distracted with her words and movements, but she couldn't do it any longer.

Now it was their turn to protect her. Draco straightened, and from the corner of his eye he saw that Potter, Weasel and the Granger girl did too.

It was time to show Alex how much they loved her.

* * *

Alex swallowed when she saw Jakobe's eyes flicker to her friends behind her. She was exhausted, but the bench had been relentless. Koya felt bad about it, Alex knew from the way her eyes wavered every time she had to ask a question. But Alex sat straight as a board and let the questions pierce, prod and poke. They wouldn't break her. But now-

She turned to look at her friends. They sat proudly, straight backed, just like she had been. Had they been sitting like that the entire time? No, they would have grown tired. They knew what was coming.

"Mr. Potter," called Ipa, the blond, blue eyed demon. He looked at her with fiercely determined green eyes. Perhaps admitting that she cared for him like a brother had made him look that way. At least, Alex hoped so. "You and Alexandria both lost parents to You-Know-Who?" Alex shook her head. It was silly really, to hear powerful demons call Voldemort by his cowardly title.

Harry nodded.

"Please speak Mr. Potter. Words must be place on the record," said Ipa. Alex really didn't like the woman.

"Yes, I lost both my mother and father, Alex lost her mother," he said with out wavering. Alex hadn't been able to do that.

"And how old were you?"

"About a year old," said Harry, then added as an after thought, "I'm a day older than Alex, so she was the same age. Though I'm sure you already knew that." Alex had to choke back laughter. She had never heard Harry speak like that before. Certainly not to any elders of theirs.

Ipa glared mildly at him. Alex felt the corners of her mouth quirking into a smile. Harry's eyes met Alex's and he smiled.

"You have lived with-" She looked through a few papers, "-Muggles for you're entire life?"

Harry gave a stiff nod. "Yes, my aunt and uncle Petunia and Vernon Dursley and my cousin Dudley Dursley."

"You have been- happy, with them?" This came from the last demon on the council, Cutler. He looked at Harry from behind a fringe of black hair.

Harry snorted. "Are you kidding? They've been bloody awful to me," at least he was speaking from the heart and not holding back. "If I could, I would probably stay at Hogwarts for every holiday. Or stay with friends," he glanced over at Ron and Hermione and Alex. She smiled at him. _If only you could Harry. If only you could._ She thought.

"So you like Hogwarts?"

"Very much."

"Would you say that you feel safe there?" Jakobe asked tentatively.

"Yes."

"And the rest of you?"

"Absolutely," said Hermione and Ron at the same time.

All eyes were on Draco. He swallowed audibly.

"Well-"

"You don't feel safe there?" asked Ipa, looking at the pale blond boy with hungry eyes. They had found the weak point in their group.

This wasn't good. He had hesitated too long. Alex took a deep breath, praying to every god and goddess she could think of and added Merlin in there as well. They would need all the help they could get.

"Well?" Ipa was impatient for an answer.

Draco looked at Alex sympathetically. Then he spoke and Alex could feel the truth of every word he let loose from his thin lips, "I was once a cruel and dispassionate boy. For the first twelve years of my life, I would punish people just for standing in my way or for looking at me the wrong way. But then I met Alex," he paused, looking unsure if he should speak the next words, but he quickly regained momentum, "and Harry Potter. My world had changed from that point on. Granted I was still cruel and mean, and, well every thing that a Slytherin embodies, but in our second year, I worked through that to reach out. And Alex found my hand and took it. She trusted me, a Malfoy and a Slytherin, with a secret so great it could tear your world and mine apart for good.

Did I feel safe at Hogwarts in my first two years there? No. Do I feel safe there now? Yes, more than I ever have in my life. And it's because I know that Alex, Kurama, Hiei, Yusuke and Kuwabara would protect the students and faculty there with their lives," Draco pulled his steel eyes up to look at the demons on the bench in their eyes. "And I will never reveal their secret unless they tell me I can. I will die before I tell any one their secret, even in the face of Lord-" he choked out the name, "V-Voldemort."

Alex could have kissed him right then and there. She had never seen anyone stand so tall and proud before. He looked so regal as he spoke, it made gooseflesh appear on her arms.

The council was quiet for a very long time. If there had been a clock, the ticking would have been heard. They shuffled through their papers, obviously looking for something that would force Alex out of the school now.

"Alexandria, we see that you haven't Declared," Marco spoke. She jumped at the sound of his voice. Then as the words sunk in she blanched.

"WHAT?" The outburst came from herself, Koenma, Kurama and Hiei, and all four of them had stood up and pounded fists on the tables. Cries had come from behind them, apparently Jin and the others knew about it as well. The others, who had said nothing, looked utterly confused.

"You can't be serious," Alex managed after a moment of seeing white hot rage. "I'm not even of legal age!"

"Nevertheless, you should have been Declared when you're mother died-"

"She was murdered," Alex hissed at Marco. "And I was not aware of this. I shouldn't have to Declare until I come of age, or I marry," She spoke through clenched teeth.

Koya came to her defense, "Alexandria is right Marco. And we have no right to speak of this now. She is only thirteen. There is still many years before she must make a decision." Koya looked at Koenma. "Koenma, you will watch her won't you?" Alex had no idea what that meant. Of course Koenma would watch her. She was like his little sister.

"Of course, Koya, has the Spiriteux come to a decision?"

Koya looked at the others. Alex knew they were speaking telepathically. She couldn't hear what they were saying. Alex turned to look at Harry, but by the defeated look on his face, he couldn't either. "We have reached a decision." Alex held her breath. "After much deliberation, we have decided to drop the charges of bringing wizards into Demon World. You invoked your rights as Princess and they never left your personal property, thus you were in the confines of the laws."

"As for the others," said Jakobe. "You will be allowed to return to Hogwarts-" Cheering erupted from behind her. Jakobe waited until they had quieted and continued, "On a few conditions."

"What would those be?" She leaned forward.

"One, you will not have to Declare right away. But power will remain with us until you do so." Ipa said. Alex could hear the proud sneer in her voice. That woman would have made an excellent Slytherin.

"The others?"

"You will have a personal- attendent of sorts,"

"I have enough bodyguards as it is, I don't think I need another," she growled. "And wouldn't that be rather revealing of our world?"

"You will play it off as needing protection as The Girl Who Lived. No need to worry, Mr. Potter will be watched as well, by the same demon. And this bodyguard is being issued by us. Not Spirit World. Besides, your bodyguards attend the school and are not so obvious. This guard will report back to us. If you do something that would be even close to being detrimental to Demon World, you will be pulled from Hogwarts immediately and must return home." This came from Cutler, who had been quiet through most of the trial. He sounded sorry for what had to be done. He had been on her side. "If you do nothing that breaks these rules, then at the end of the year we will leave you and your friends be."

"Do you comply with these conditions?" Koya asked.

Alex had no choice. She had been backed into a corner and there was no escape. She swallowed what was left of her pride and bowed her head. "Yes ma'am, I do." _Regretfully,_ she thought as she heard a hiss from behind her. Of course Draco would object, but he couldn't say anything, or it would break everything. She was able to return to Hogwarts, she just had to be extremely careful about what she did, or she would find herself on the next Floo ride to hell.

* * *

Hermione could have cried. It was unfair what they were doing to poor Alex, as she watched her ever changing friend accept the terms of the Spiriteux. Completely unfair. And by the hiss that issued from Malfoy's throat, he agreed with her. Alex was going to be completely surrounded and there would be no way out. Hermione felt completely helpless. Granted she had tried to help, but Alex had told her multiple times that it was impossible to use logic against the Spiriteux. They had a telepath, just like Hiei and Harry, but of a much higher caliber- much higher.

Hermione looked at Kurama for guidance. She wanted to be assured that, despite this outcome, everything was going to be okay. As if sensing her plea, he turned to her and smiled. Hermione nearly melted in her seat. It was dazzling, and she could smell the faint signs of roses, his way of reassuring her. She nodded at him, silently telling him that she felt better, and not to worry. There would be plenty of time for that later. He turned back to face the court.

She guided her eyes away from Kurama and looked at Alex. She looked as if she was ready to collapse at any moment. Hermione didn't like the fact that she carried so many burdens on her shoulders; making sure Harry was being trained properly, always looking out for the well being of others before herself, keeping up with homework and Quidditch, keeping her own training in check, watching and taking care of Malfoy (though, Hermione found that to be a minuscule burden that Alex shouldn't worry about as much) and now dealing with this. All of these things made her look older than she should. Hermione would find a way of helping Alex relieve herself of some of the burdens, and if she could, find out more about the Declaring thing. It was something that had Hermione itching to get into a library and begin finding out about it soon.

A new challenge awaited her back at Everto Alveus, and Hermione was nearly bouncing at the thought of it.

* * *

Ron was furious. How could they do that to them? Actually it had been mostly to Alex. It was like the others were just along for the bloody ride.

He also felt extremely helpless. Alex hung her head in obvious defeat and the stupid demons sitting up in their bench looked practically gleeful. Well, that bloody Ipa woman did at any rate. Ron foresaw trouble with her in the coming times. She would be dealt with. No one was going to mess with his friends and get away with it unscathed themselves.

"It's not over, is it Harry?" He muttered to his best mate next to him. Harry shook his head at him. He was clutching his left ribs. Ron furrowed his brow at him. "Are you all right mate?"

Harry turned and smiled at him. "I will be," he took his hand off his ribs. "Probably from sitting next to Malfoy too long." He jerked his head in the direction of the blond git. He looked ready to jump out of his seat towards Alex.

"Yea," Ron agreed, but knew it couldn't have been that. As intolerable as Malfoy had been over the past few days, Harry had barely uttered one foul mouthed comment about him, which was unusual in itself. But there had been no time to dwell on it. Ron would have to find time now.

He felt that there would be plenty of time now. Despite the worry that Alex carried in her agreement with the stupid, bloody demons trying to ruin their lives.

* * *

Alex stepped out of the courtroom with the others and stretched her arms above her head. The room had felt a lot smaller than she knew it actually was. It had been like the walls were closing in on her. All she wanted to do now was to go home to Everto Alveus and sleep for the next two days before they had to return to Hogwarts.

But that wasn't going to be possible. Not yet, anyway.

She and the others still had to meet the demon who was going to be her equivalency of a parole officer for the next year. All she had to do was behave like a model demon until then.

There was no way in the seven circles of hell that that would last. Trouble had a way of finding them on every street corner.

"Koenma, do you know who this demon might be?" Yusuke asked. He sounded tired too. They would all need some sleep after this.

"I wish I did, but no."

"That Ipa was quite the show wasn't she?" said Rinku. He was playing with one of his yo-yos.

"She and Jakobe," said Jin. "You know that Koya tried to help as best she could, doncha ya lass?"

Alex smiled and nodded. "I know Jin. You're cousin was wonderful. And so was Cutler. And Marco wasn't too bad, I suppose. But Jakobe has been out for blood ever since I-"

"I really would stop that sentence of yours Lady Alex," said a voice from behind Hermione on Alex's left. "Yours and Mr. Potter's surveillance begins now." Alex spun on her heel to face her latest addition to her entourage. He was a tall demon with shaggy brown hair and sky blue eyes. He seemed familiar somehow, but she couldn't place it. She was going to open her mouth to speak, but he held up a hand to silence her. "Not here, let's go to Everto Alveus. We can speak- freely there."

Alex clamped her mouth shut and led the way to the magical door that led to her home.


	8. Tell Me Something

So this is a SUPER short chapter. Just something to pass the time. I'm currently involved in NaNoWrioMo (for those who don't know, November is National Novel Writing Month) and I will be unable to update this story for the rest of the month. But, to those who really like this story, you might like the story I'm writing for NaNoWriMo. It's a Draco/Harry Pirate story. It'll be under the title, "Love on the High Seas." It is a slash story. And it is my first Slash, so if you read, please review and don't be hatin' too much!

Anyway, by the beginning of next month this story will be back in full swing. I just wanted you guys to have something to read, so that you don't think this story is dead!

Please enjoy!

* * *

Everyone was at Alex's dining table. She felt immensely better at being in her own home again; her own territory. Draco sat next to her, rather closely she noted, his hand gripped hers in a death vice, seemly to silently vow never to let go. His eyes were intently focused on the demon sitting almost directly across from them. His blue eyes had never left Alex, and oddly enough, that unnerved her greatly. She rarely let people stare at her that long, granted she had gotten used to being stared at in the wizarding world, but those stares never lasted as long as this had. She smiled at him politely. "Would you care for some tea?" She summoned a tea kettle and several cups for her friends and herself and her newest bodyguard. The kettle flew around the table, pouring piping hot tea into each cup.

"Thank you," he murmured quietly and pressed the cup to his mouth, and it made Alex shiver. His voice was like listening to wind chimes tinkling in the wind. It was a soft wind, Alex supposed. At least for now.

Alex sipped at her tea, having a silent staring contest with the quiet demon. He was quite handsome, she had to admit. His hair was rather shaggy and curled at the collar of his shirt, and his face was angular and chiseled. He wasn't overly muscular, and somewhat thin. "So, if you don't mind my asking, what might your name be?" She asked cordially. "It just won't do to call you, 'hey you' for the rest of the year, will it?" Draco's hand tightened on hers. _Must be jealous, _she grinned. But knew that could lead to terrible incidences while the demon was around.

"Of course," he replied, setting his cup down in front of him. "Forgive my rudeness. I am Callrey. A rather talented water demon," he added light-humorously. "I am on hire for the Spiriteux to watch over you and Mr. Potter for this school year. I will report to Koya personally, as will you," Alex breathed a soft sigh of relief, at least they were going to be dealing with Koya. "And," Callrey continued, "If I feel that you violate any more laws, I will bring you back to Demon World immediately."

"Of course," she muttered, then said a little more loudly, "Where will you be staying while at Hogwarts?"

Callrey's fingers played with the rim of his cup. They were long and well taken care of. He reminded Alex vaguely of Draco, whose hand on hers was soft and probably manicured to perfection. "There is to be a room set up for me in one of the old offices on the fourth floor. Not quite where I would like to be, but it will have to do."

"Be thankful they're putting up with you that much," said Harry from her right. "They could have had you staying in the dungeons, or even Hogsmeade."

"What's wrong with the dungeons, Potter?" Draco countered hotly.

"My point has been made," Harry replied smugly. Draco's eyes narrowed at him and Alex decided that now would be an excellent time to return the death grip he had placed her in. He winced and did not reply. Alex suddenly felt more tired that she had been early. She stood, releasing herself from Draco's grip and tilted her head.

"I'm going to lie down for awhile," she said, yawning. "Callrey, please, make yourself at home while you're here. You will find that I do not lack in the hospitality department. I will see you all at dinner." And with that Alex retreated to the hall and made her way to her room. But, before reaching the stairs she found herself making her way to the basement. She wouldn't sleep, there was too much going through her mind at the moment. For one, she had remembered where she knew Callrey from, and it wasn't a pleasant memory that seeped through her head.

* * *

Draco watched as Alex departed the dining hall. He made to follow her. Just to talk. He wanted to know what was going through her head, and if there was anything he could do to help her. It was as he reached the stairway that he saw the newest addition to Alex's entourage, Callrey, make his way down to the basement. Draco felt as though he should follow the demon, but his heart led him upstairs.

Draco knocked on Alex's door, but there was no answer. He knocked again, but still no answer. He knew that she wasn't a deep sleeper, and that Alex would have at least yelled at him for waking her, but there was no answer what-so-ever. Draco tried the doorknob and found the door to be unlocked. He peeked inside and found that her room was empty. Closing the door, he thought about the places where she could have gone to. _The basement. _He thought, and made his way back downstairs. _Callrey knew she was down there. But how is that possible? _He was baffled, but then an answer came to him. _He must be able to track her some way, so that he can keep an eye on her at all times._

Silently, Draco made his way down the steps that led to the basement. As he neared the corner that would lead him to the recreational room, Draco heard voices coming from the other side of the door. He stepped closer to the corner and peeked around it. Beyond the double glass-paned doors, he saw Alex talking with Callrey, in what appeared to be a rather unfriendly manner. _Is Alex _trying_ to get herself isolated from our world? It's not smart of her to be talking to the man who could ruin her life like that._ With that thought, Draco listened carefully, he could hear right through the glass.

"Don't think that I'll be polite like that all the time Callrey," Alex said. "It took some time, but I remember who you are."

Callrey smirked, and it was one that made even Draco proud. "I'm glad. Though I'm disappointed it took so long."

"I made a point to forget my past. Terrible things happened," Alex's voice seemed to crack. Then her voice strengthened as she said, "and you were one of those terrible things, Callrey." Draco could see that she was trying to hold back tears. But he didn't feel sympathy, he felt angry. How dare this demon make Alex cry, and how dare Alex show such an emotion in front of her enemy. It disgusted Draco. "Don't you even feel bad about what you did?"

Callrey tipped his head to the side as if he were studying Alex. "Not really." He spoke in an even, unwavering, neutral tone. "Why would you forget what happened in the past? What happened in the past has made me stronger. I thought it would have at least done that to you as well. But look where you've fallen," He gestured upstairs, as though indicating all the people sitting in the dining room above them. "Mingling with wizards as though they're our equals. You're better than that. What happened to the fierce, demon lineage-proud girl I knew back in grade school?"

Alex gave him a look of utter disgust, "Excuse me? If you've already forgotten, I am a witch, as well as a demon, and I will thank you not to insult my blood, or my mothers'. I'm still fierce, as you will soon learn, and I will not take crap from a demon who had his panties put into a bunch one too many times." She practically hissed the words, and Draco was thankful she hadn't slipped into her Parseltongue, or he wouldn't have been able to hear the words she had spoken.

Surprisingly, Callrey didn't look phased by her words, in fact, he looked smug. "You forget what my position is, Alex. I can have you dragged back here to demon world in a heartbeat, and I won't hesitate-" his words were cut off by Alex flinging her fist into his jaw. Draco heard her knuckles connect with his jaw and watched as Callrey flew up and across the room with gusto. Draco figured Alex hadn't held back on her punch.

"You forget who I am, Callrey," she said with an even tone. The emotions that had been in her previous words were no longer there. Draco wondered where Alex locked them away. "You won't lose your best job so quickly. You'll keep me around as long as the Spiriteux think me worthy enough to be followed. Only when they give up on me, will you find a way to turn me into them. Now, please leave before I decide to kick you in a place that will leave you limping for a month." She turned her back to him, and waited for the man to leave. The whole time, Callrey had been rubbing his chin. He stood, wavered for a moment, and then left the room.

Callrey passed Draco, but didn't notice him. Draco went into the recreational room and cleared his throat. Alex whipped around, fist ready to connect into another jaw, but her eyes registered that it was only Draco and lowered her hand. "Everything all right?"

"Like you would care," she muttered. Draco realized then that she had not only locked away her emotions from Callrey, but from everyone else as well. That just wouldn't do.

Draco pulled out his wand, knowing that they were well out of the way of the Ministry's jurisdiction and he flung a Stinging Hex at her. It hit her square on her right buttocks. Alex gave a yelp of surprise and spun on him, her wand in her hand. "What was that for?" she demanded. Draco smirked, there was a fire in her eyes, and anger that Draco found was appropriate for her.

"For you being an idiot," he replied casually. "You haven't shed a single ounce of emotion since we left the courtroom. The first I saw of anything was when you were talking to that git of a demon."

She blanched. "You- you heard everything?"

"Mostly."

Alex groaned and lowered her wand. "You're a right prat, you know that?"

Draco stood tall. "I'll take that as a compliment. At least I got through that thick Gryffindor skull of yours. Here I thought Potter was the slow one of your little party."

She shook her head. "Can't you play nice, even for a day?"

"Where's the fun in that?"

"Stupid Slytherin."

"Stupid Gryffindor."

Alex sighed and smiled at him. "Aren't you going to ask how I know Callrey?"

"I thought I didn't care?"

"You don't. Doesn't mean you aren't curious." Draco turned his back to her, and made his way back towards the door.

"What if I'm not even curious?"

"Then you've left the level of prat and have hit uncaring git." She had struck a nerve that Draco didn't think people could hit with him. He did care, and he was curious, but he wasn't going to push Alex into telling him. Though that would be his normal route of finding things out, with Alex, it was different. If you pushed her, she would try and pull in a different direction, and all he wanted was a straight answer from her. And, well, he had to preserve what Malfoy dignity he had built up.

"Excellent, then my work is done." And with that he left Alex standing in the room to contemplate his air of uncaring.

* * *

Harry was bored. They had reached the last day of being in Demon World, and Harry found himself happy to be going back. Not that he didn't enjoy his time during their stay, but that had been before the trial. Now that it was over, there was less anticipation and excitement buzzing through the large house. Alex seemed to have made herself scarce throughout the rest of their stay. Whether it was to avoid Callrey, or the piercing gaze of Malfoy, Harry wasn't sure.

The only excitement that seemed to resonate through the house was the insults that Malfoy and Ron hurled at each other with every passing. That and the tricks that Malfoy continued to pull on him and Ron. As entertaining as it had been in the beginning, it was starting to become and annoyance that was growing on everyone.

"Draco Malfoy! By everything that is holy in this world and all others, will you refrain from causing anymore trouble!" Alex's voice echoed through the house and Harry could have sworn that it could have been heard for miles.

Harry looked over at Alex who was now covered in a reddish-clear liquid that smelled faintly like honey. Harry heard snippets of her muttering that sounded vaguely like, "Weasley twins," and "just like". Alex pulled out her wand and used it to wipe away the liquid.

Harry frowned. They had been discussing Harry's telepathy training before Malfoy had run in and gave Alex what looked like a normal flower. He had kissed her on the cheek and then disappeared down the hall in a flurry of black robes. When Alex had gone to smell the flower it had exploded and Alex had been covered in the viscous liquid. Malfoy's behavior had been strange from the start of this whole excursion, and Harry found it rather unsettling to see Malfoy pulling pranks and being- well, being so not like a Malfoy.

"Why is Malfoy acting this way?" Harry asked Alex.

All she did was sigh and place her head in her hands. Harry gave her a few moments to compose herself. But to his surprise, Alex didn't bring her head up. Instead, he head the faint sounds of sobbing. Harry hesitantly reached out and touched her shoulder. She jerked her head up, Harry saw no tears on her face and realized that she had been crying but she just could bring herself to shed tears. "I'm sorry, Harry," Alex said mutely. "I've been a mess since the trial, and Draco hasn't been helping much." She sighed, her eyes closed then she opened them and looked at Harry. A new resolve was set on her face and her eyes shined brightly. "And I've been neglecting my friendships with you, Ron and Hermione. I plan to rectify that immediately, once we get back to Hogwarts."

Harry was taken aback. Where was this new attitude coming from? And Alex had avoided answering his question about Malfoy. He would have to go to the source of the problem to find that answer, Harry guessed. "How will you do that Alex?"

She sat up straighter in her chair, his hand slipped off her shoulder and back into his lap. She looked him directly in the eyes, and that unnerved him slightly, since she hadn't done that since their first year. "I plan on giving you all my undivided attention as often as possible, and when you all need me. I've been so absorbed in what's going on with Draco and this trial that I've nearly forgotten about the others who are important to me." She shook her head. "I can't allow that to happen. You need me because of your telepathy, Hermione wants me around because I'm able to comprehend most of what she says- though she also has Kurama around for that- Ron wants me to help him with homework, and play wizard chess with him and have someone to talk to when you're not around. And it's not just your needs, it's that _I_ want and need to spend time with you all as well."

Harry felt his heart clench. He hadn't known how much he and the others relied on Alex. She was their anchor, and they needed her. But he also hadn't realized how much Alex needed them. She probably would have fallen apart without them around, especially during the trial. Harry also noticed that Alex hadn't mentioned Yusuke, Kuwabara or the others in her list of friends. "What about-"

Alex cut him off, "They don't need me as much. They've been with each other for so long that they have each other to anchor themselves to the world. The four of us; you, me, Hermione and Ron? Well we've been through more together than we have with them. They've through more together than they have with us. We just collide every now and again." Alex stood and leaned down to hug Harry. "Go pack Harry, we leave later tonight." And with that she left the room.

Harry sat in silence for a long while. He had learned new things in this place that he wouldn't soon forget, if he ever forgot. His friendships with Ron, Hermione and Alex were important to him, and if he wanted to keep those bonds strong, he would have to discipline his mind more and train harder, so that he could stop invading their privacy when he didn't mean to. He would also start spending more time with Hermione and Ron, just as Alex was going to. He had been spending far too much of his time with just Alex, and that would have to stop.

With a new fire burning in him, Harry stood to go and deal with another problem; Malfoy.

* * *

Harry fought with the anger that was welling inside him. He wasn't sure where it was coming from, but he knew exactly who it was going to be directed at. As Harry wandered in what he thought was a determined path to rip Malfoy a new one, he began to realize that the house was just too large to really have any results in actually finding the boy. But Harry was determined to find him, so Harry continued, checking every room he came across.

After ten minutes of what became aimless wandering, Harry stopped near a set of french doors that led outside to a patio. He looked outside and found Malfoy standing out there in the snow, wearing a black cloak and his Slytherin scarf. _What the hell is he doing just standing in the cold?_ Harry thought. He ran quickly back upstairs to his room and shrugged on his own cloak and Gryffindor scarf and hoped that Malfoy was still outside when he got back down.

He was in luck, Malfoy had barely moved more than a foot in the five minutes it took Harry to get back. Harry opened the doors and stepped out into the cold. If the blonde had heard him, he made no indication as to such. He just stood there, staring out into the forest. Harry found his anger ebbing into curiosity. "Malfoy," The boy turned to face Harry, and there was some unreadable emotion swirling in his steel eyes.

"Potter," his eyes narrowed. "What do you want?" The anger flooded Harry once again, possibly flaring from just the sound of Malfoy's voice. Cold and uncaring.

"Why are you making Alex's life so damn difficult?" Harry decided to go with a rather direct approach. Malfoy's mouth twitched at the corners.

"My, my, Potter, such language for someone your age," he drawled. "You really should watch yourself, lest someone hear you." Harry kept his eyes locked with Malfoy's. He knew that his emotions would show there, not in his face. Malfoy met his gaze.

"You didn't answer my question."

Malfoy gave an exasperated sigh, "I'm not making _her_ life difficult," he said carefully. "I'm trying to make _everyone's_ life difficult. It's what I do best, really."

Harry threw his arms up in frustration. "Are you _kidding_ me?" he fought to keep his voice level and calm, but he felt the rage slip through his vocal cords. "If anything, you're just an annoyance to everyone. Everyone but Alex. For the life of me I can't figure out why she actually cares about you-" Malfoy opened his mouth to say something but Harry shook his head and plowed on now that he had some momentum, "-and so what you've been doing lately has just been added stress on her. I think you actually know that, somewhere in that thick Slytherin skull of yours, and yet you keep going." Then he added breathlessly, "Why?"

Harry still couldn't read the expression in Malfoy's eyes, and his face was set in a stony calm. "There is no real why, Potter," He said quietly. "I can't stop. No matter what I do, I can't stop." Harry was confused. He had never heard Malfoy's voice without some kind of malice or sarcasm, and this part of Malfoy was not unpleasant. But that quickly changed. "I really don't care what you think, Potter," his voice was hard. "Don't worry about what goes on between Lexi and myself, and worry about your own stupid little problems, alright? I don't want help from a hero-complexed Gryffindor, got it?" And with that Malfoy stormed past Harry back into the house and disappeared around a corner.

Harry stood outside dejectedly and wondered what the hell had just happened.


	9. Quidditch and Heartache

**Author's Note: To those who still read this; I am not dead, this story is still being worked on. Slowly but surely it will be done.**

* * *

Frustration.

That's all Alex had been feeling in the first two weeks back at Hogwarts after their trip to Demon World.

She had been feeling frustration at Callrey for following her and Harry constantly. She was frustrated at the whispers that had been following her and Harry ever since they had returned. But mostly, she was feeling frustration at Draco.

He had been nothing but a thorn in her side, and it was now resulting in their silent treatment to each other. For now, Alex was fine with that, it left her with one less thing to worry about.

"Tell me Harry," They were sitting in an unused classroom, Alex and Harry sitting across from each other on the floor. Ron and Hermione were with Kurama and Callrey in a corner of the room, studying. "What do you see?"

* * *

Harry shook his head in frustration. It had been this way for several evenings now. Alex was having him delve into his mind and look for what she was calling his Protector. Hiei was busy serving a detention for hexing another third year for calling him a name that Harry couldn't recall at the moment. "Nothing," he said for what could have been the millionth time.

She sighed, she was probably was as frustrated as he was. "Alright Harry, we're done for the night."

Callrey looked up at her. "That's it?" He sounded quite stunned. Harry looked up at the clock on the wall, they had been there for nearly two hours. His mind was exhausted, he needed a break at least. "I thought you would fight him tooth and nail. Calm and collected certainly isn't your way of going about things."

"I don't believe that I was looking for your input Callrey. I'm not the one who's suppose to be teaching him, that's Hiei's newest job. I haven't a clue as to what I'm doig except for what Hiei told me to do." She growled at him.

Callrey dipped his head and gathered his belongings. "Forgive me, Alex, I didn't know."

"I think we could all use a little sleep," Kurama had probably seen the firey look in Alex's eyes, as Harry had seen and Callrey had missed. "Harry why don't you and Alex go and get something to eat from the kitchens. Callrey, you don't mind them going off on their own for a few minutes do you?"

Callrey raised his head to look at Kurama. "Don't see the harm in it," he shifted his gaze over to Alex. Who contentedly glared at him. "So long as you come straight back to the dormitory, you're not back in twenty minutes and I'll come looking for you."

"Sure, fine," Alex waved her hand. "Come along Harry, we shouldn't waste our precious minutes." Harry knew that he didn't actually have to follow her. She was being a pain because of Callrey. She had told him, Ron and Hermione that she was going to cause as much havoc with Callrey as possible, but just reaching the point of where he couldn't do anything about it. But he didn't want Alex to be on her own at a time like this, so he followed her out into the corridor and towards the Entrance Hall. Niether one spoke until the last step into the hall. "I'm sorry Harry," She stopped at the bottom step and sat down. He slumped down next to her. "I never meant for anything to get out of hand like this."

"It's not your fault Alex," Which was mostly true. It wasn't like she could choose who she would become and what blood flowed through her vains.

"I know that," She didn't snap at him, like he was expecting her to. She had replied with a sigh, which perhaps made it worse, since that meant she was retreating into a portion of herself that she would hide everything away. Harry didn't like it. "I don't want turmoil so close to our first match of the season." Ah, Quidditch. Alex hadn't been as focused as usual and Oliver Wood had been excurtiatingly hard on her about it, which really only made things worse. "And, I'm sorry about this evening in particular. I know that I'm shoddy as a teacher, but Hiei couldn't make it like I had been been hoping so-"

"Alex, stop!" Harry nearly yelled. Her eyes widened in shock at him. He never yelled at her. Ever. "You keep apologizing for every little thing that happens, you have been ever since we got back. And now, when you feel threatened by any sort of emotion that makes you seem even remotely human you retreat into some little lockbox you've hidden in yourself. Just stop!" He was fuming, he knew that, but Alex was getting on his nerves and he couldn't take another second more of her self pity. "What happened to the fierce, strong demon girl that I knew- that we all knew? You're not the same, and I hate it. I miss the Alex that would get angry about the little things and then laugh it off moments later. I miss the girl who would take dares from the twins and go jump in the lake just to see how long it would take for the giant squid to notice you," He grabbed her face with both hands on her cheeks. "What happened to that Alexandria?"

Her eyes avoided his for a long stretch of time. She even tried to pull away from his grip, but Harry held fast. It was as if she was avoiding pulling up the subject. Avoiding the truth. Harry knew that they couldn't run from the truth. They were in trouble, and Alex was the only one who could possibly help. After what seemed like an eternity, her eyes met his. They reflected his green ones, and they seemed to be never ending, tears welled but didn't fall. "I can't Harry," She spoke barely above a whisper. "My world is falling apart around me and there's nothing, _nothing_, I can do to fix it," A solitary tear fell down her cheek and slid down his index finger.

"You can, Alex," He murmured. "You're an amazing person, and you have amazing friends to help. You're not alone," He slipped his hands down to her shoulders and pulled her into a gentle, reassuring embrace. "I know that there're nothing you can't do when you set your mind to it." He felt her mouth move as she replied into his shoulder, but either didn't hear her or no sound came out.

They sat like that for awhile, then Harry felt Alex pull away, so he let go slowly. She looked at him again. "Thank you, Harry." She leaned on his shoulder. "I-" But whatever Alex was going to say was cut off by a loud obnoxious voice that Harry was hoping he wouldn't have to hear for awhile. The thing in his side lurched madly as he heard the footsteps draw nearer.

"Well isn't this just touching," Malfoy came into sight. Harry wondered how much the blonde had seen. He didn't want Alex to be feeling even more vulnerable now that he had managed to break though one of her walls. "And here I thought I was your one and only," Harry was on him in and instant. His wand was on Malfoy's throat in seconds. But Harry also noticed that there was another wand there too.

"Back to the dorms, Malfoy." Hiei growled. _Where had he come from?_ "Potter, you too, back to the tower. Tell Callrey I'm watching Alex." Harry waited until Malfoy backed away and turned tail to the dungeons, once Harry was sure the boy wasn't going to come back, Harry lowered his wand. He glanced over at Alex who had stood on the stairs, but had otherwise not moved, her face stark white.

"Go on Harry, I'll be fine. I promise," She smiled weakly at him, and he nodded carefully and ascended the stairs.

Harry entered the common room, suddenly feeling more tired than ever. The heads of Kurama, Hermione, Ron, Callrey and the twins lifted when he entered. "Where is Alex?" said Callrey, standing.

"She's with Hiei. There was- an encounter with Malfoy. I'm sure she'll be back soon." Harry replied brisquely. It was because of him and the other demons at the trial that had caused this turmoil.

Callrey was beginning to stand up but Kurama stopped him. "I know it's your job to look after both of them, but you have to trust Hiei to help you out. Alex won't get into any trouble." Callrey's eyes narrowed but he lowered himself back into the chair, with a mumbled _fine_.

Harry sat down on the couch near the fire. Hermione's head was buried deep into a book, Kurama and Ron were playing a game of wizard chess and the twins- "Wait, where'd Fred and George go?"

* * *

Alex sank down onto the stairs once again. What the hell was wrong with her? In any other situation she would have had her wand out in seconds like Harry had done. Hiei moved to sit next to her.

"What's wrong with you?" He muttered, shifting so he could get a look at her face. "Any other time, you would have stopped that on your own."

_Yes, what is wrong with me? _She could hear her own heartbeat in her ears. The tears welled in her eyes. "I don't know," She murmured angrily. "But I just wish that everyone would leave me alone about it."

"Alex?" She swiftly turned, wand out, and found herself looking into two identical faces.

"Fred? George?" She lowered her wand as they two boys decended the stairs.

"Heard you were going for a late night snack-"

"Figured we'd help you bring some food back for everyone," They said seamlessly. "Don't mind do you?"

Alex blinked dumbly at them. Then shook her head and flashed them a smile. "No, of course not. Hiei, I'll be fine," She didn't even glance at him. "You can go and torture Malfoy to your hearts' content." She nearly shooed him away.

"Hmf." And with that Hiei disappeared down into the dungeons.

"George, we need to get one of those," Fred said, leading the way with his twin to the kitchens.

"One what?" Alex asked curiously following behind the taller boys.

"Someone who'll do our every bidding and be availiable at beck and call."

Alex giggled. "Don't let Hiei hear you say that about him. The only reason he listened was because I've been in such a weird mood lately."

George and Fred slowed their pace so that they were walking on either side of her. "There's only one cure for that Alex-"

"And that's laughter!" George said, turning to face her and pulling the corners of her mouth up into a smile. She swatted his hands away but the smile stayed.

"Thanks guys. I appreciate you trying to help," She said, and continued walking along the corridor.

"Yea?" Their faces were bright with smiles.

"Yea," She ran ahead of them, finaling feeling more elated than she had in awhile. "Come on, I'll race you!"

They ran the rest of the way to the Kitchens, laughing all the way.

* * *

"I hate this."

"I know."

"I really, really hate this,"

"You said that already,"

"I really-"

"Enough, Draco!" Millicent nearly shrieked at him, drawing attention from fellow Slytherins. "And enough with the insistent foot tapping. It's undignified for someone of your status. And, it's driving me nuts. No, correction, you're driving me nuts! And you have been ever since you got back from- well, from where ever you had gone to," Millicent said. Draco stopped his foot mid tap, and glanced up at her with stoic grey eyes. All his mates had been trying to get him to tell them where he had gone. But his mouth had been tightly clamped everytime.

"Forgive me Millie, for being such a bother to you. But perhaps you could just find somewhere else to prowl and lurk."

"You've been in such a sulky mood. What's wrong Draco darling?" Pansy asked. She was curled up at the foot of the chair where Blaise was sitting.

"Aw, what did you and Alexandria finally break it off?" Blaise probably meant for his words to be teasing but they struck a chord with Draco, and he felt the blood drain from his face. He and Alex hadn't spoken in nearly a week. A lot of the time she wouldn't even look at him. And Potter was with her all the time, and he could barely stand to be near him, quite literally. Blaise saw the look on Draco's face. "Oh, sorry mate, I didn't know."

Draco's eyes narrowed. "It's not official. She's just not talking to me, that's all." Swift words, for a carefully covered doubt. He very much wanted it not to be true.

"Alex has been quite moody as of late as well." Maria chirped from the table along a nearby wall. Books were scattered all around her. "What did you do?"

Draco stood up and nearly growled. Nearly. Malfoy's were more dignified than that. "Why are you assuming _I_ did something? Why can't it be her to blame?"

A smile formed on the girls' lips. "Oh, of course, forgive me, Draco. What did Alex do to make you absolutely hate the world and every living thing on it?"

Draco's lips thinned as her jibe sunk in. "I hate this," He repeated and stormed off into his room.

* * *

Her neck hurt. Granted, that was probably the understament of the year. What ever way she moved it, it hurt. The twins had offered her an assortment of sweets that they, reassuringly, said would help, but Alex had learned not to ever trust them when it came to candy.

Alex had spent the evening staying up late talking with the twins about their plans after graduation. About the string of shops they wanted to open, and, they had jokingly said that they wanted to run Zonko's out of business. With the way they were going with their inventions, Alex was sure they would.

With all their talk, they had fallen asleep in the common room, and Alex had woken up with her head bent over the couch armrest, George lying at her feet and Fred on the floor below her. It was probably quite the comical sight, if any one had seen them. Luckily Alex woke up in the early hours of the morning and had slinked off to the comfort of her own bed, but not before finding a couple of blankets for the twins.

Now here she was at Quidditch practice with Harry and the twins. In the center of the of the circle in the lockers was Oliver Wood, a handsome, seventeen year old, Gryffindor Quidditch Captain who was in his last year at Hogwarts. And he was also looking at his last chance to win the Quidditch Cup.

"This is our last chance- _my _last chance to win that Cup. You all know I'm leaving at the end of the year, and I'll never have another chance." He said as he paced up and down in front of them. "Gryffindor hasn't won the Cup in seven years. And yes, Fate has been against us, injuries- the tournament getting canceled last year," Wood paused, and swallowed. "But we also know that we have the best damn team this school has to offer!" He looked around at them with a proud glint in his eyes.

"We have three _stunning_ Chasers," Wood pointed at Angelina Johnson, Katie Bell and Alex. Alex felt a blush creep up into her cheeks.

"Two _unbeatable_ Beaters!"

"Oh, stop Oliver, you're embarrasing us!" Fred and George said together.

"And we've got a Seeker who had never failed to catch a Snitch!" He looked at Harry with a sort of proud gleam. "And, me," He added as an afterthought.

"You're better than any Keeper I've seen Oliver!" Alex put in.

"Smashing Keeper!"

There were other encouraging words for Oliver from the other players. "I want that Cup," He said, continuing his pacing. "We may not have gotten it in the past, but I know- just _know_ that this is our year."

"We've got this Captain!" Cheered Alex.

"Definitely," Harry put in.

* * *

"Alex, you coming back inside?" Harry asked. She turned her head carefully and smiled at him. His hair was windswept from practice. Ever since Wood's speech, they had been parcticing three nights a week. The weather continued to grow colder and wetter.

"Not yet," she replied. "Gonna have another little flight around the pitch. Clear my head a bit. Go on without me," She whacked him on the buttocks with her broom playfully.

He laughed and jumped to stay out of the way of a second swing. "All right, but don't blame me if Ron's left you with nothing to eat." He waved to her and disappeared into the darkness.

Alex jumped onto her broom and floated a bit off the ground. She then steadied it and stood on the handle. Carefully balanced, she bent over and grabbed the handle with her hands and lifted her feet off the broom. She knew that Callrey was sitting in the stands watching her carefully.

"You know, that's not exactly the safest thing to do," a voice drawled from the locker room entrance. Alex righted herself on her broom and jumped to the ground.

"Glad to know you care so much about me Malfoy," She replied as she swept past him into the locker room. "What do you want?" She opened her cubby and pulled out her robes and began changing.

"Not to apologize," his voice was muffled by the door. At least he was being chivalrous.

"Of course not," Alex muttered.

"I heard that!" He cried indignitely.

Alex pulled her brown hair back into a tail, straightened her robes and stepped out of the locker room with her bookbag and broom in hand. She knew that there would only be a few moments before Callrey would be walking with her back up to the castle.

"Alex, let's talk," Draco said, walking quickly to keep up with her fast pace. Where was Callrey when you needed him?

"What's there to talk about?" She asked, more vicously then she had intended. "You hurt me Malfoy, or don't remember?"

He stopped in his tracks. Alex turned to face him. "I remember." His head was hung low. "And yes, I'm sorry about it, but I really don't know why I did it."

Alex stepped closer to him. "Draco," She whispered and pulled his head up so that he was looking her in the eyes. "You know that I can't do this any more."

His eyes widened with shock. "Do what?"

"Us, this," She grabbed his hands. They were shaking and he was cold. "You and I fight too much," She laughed at this. Alex wanted to make it easy, make it something it wasn't. "I think we make better friends than as a couple."

Draco stood there in silence for quite a time, his face hidden again. Then Alex felt his hands shaking more and more, and she watched as his body started shaking as well. Alex blinked at him. "Are you-? Are you _laughing_?" It seemed all he could do was nod.

Alex pulled her hands away. "Well-"

"No!" He reached for her again. "It's not like that," There was a smile on his face. "I'm laughing, because I came out here to do the exact same thing. I've been thinking about it, and you're right. We don't work this way." He tilted his head. "I just wanted to say it first, because that's what Malfoys do, you know."

"What? Break up with people before they can be broken up with?"

He grinned widely. "Yes, exactly."

She pulled him into a hug. "I missed you Draco,"

"Missed you too, Lexi." Then he pulled away. "So, can we say that I broke up with you? I have a reputation to uphold, you know."

She shoved him lightly as they made there way back to the castle. Callrey watching from afar.


End file.
